CIHM Microfiche Series (l\/lonographs) ICI\/IH Collection de microfiches (monographies) m Canadian Instituta for Hittoricaf Microraproductiont / Inttitut Canadian da microraproductioni hittoriqua* WWW Technical and Bibliographic Notes / Notes technique et bibliographiques The Institute has attetnpted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, whi-h may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming are checked below. ry\ Coloured covers / ^^^ Couverture de couleur n n n n 0 0 D D D D D Covers damaged / Couverture endommagee Covers restored and/or laminated / Couverture restauree et/ou pelliculee Cover title missing / Le titre de couverture manque Coloured maps / Cartes geographiques en couleur Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black) / Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) Coloured plates and/or illustrations / Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur Bound with other material / Relie avec d'autres documents Only edition available / Seule edition disponible Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin / La reliure serree peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distorsion le long de la marge interieure. Blank leaves added during restorations may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming / II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajoutees lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, mais, lorsque cela 6tait possible, ces pages n'ont pas ete filmees. Additional comments / Commen*aires supplementaiies; L'Institut a microfilme le meilleur examplaire qu'il lui a ete possible de se procurer. Les details de cet exem- plaire qui sont peut-etre uniques du point de vue bibli- ographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une modifications dans la meth- ode normale de filmage sont Indiques ci-dessous. D D D Q D 0 D D n n Coloured pages / Pages de couleur Pages damaged / Pages endommagees Pages restored and/or laminated / Pages restaurees et/ou pellicutees ; discoloured stained or foxed / Pages decolorees, tachetees ou piquees Pages detached / Pages detachees Showthrough / Transparence Quality of print varies / Qualite inegale de I'impression Includes supplementary material / Comprend du materiel supplementaire Pages wfiolly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc., tiave been refilmed to ensure tfie best possible image / Les pages totalement ou partiellement obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure. etc., ont ete filmees a nouveau de fagon a obtenir la meilleure image possible. Opposing pages with varying colouration or discolourations are filmed twice to ensure the best possible image / Les pages s'opposant ayant des colorations variables ou des decol- orations sont filmees deux fois afin d'obtenir la meilleur image possible. This ittm is filmwt at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est filmc au taux de reduction indique ci-dessous. ''OX 14X 18X 22X ■/ 1 12X 16X 20X 24 X 28 X 3;» Th« COPY •«■«•<» •»•'• •»•» "••" '•P'<»<""e««' ^*"^* to IM g«naro*ity of: National Library ot Canada Th. im.y.. .pp.."n8 h.r. •'• th. ».« q"''«V po...bl. con..d.rm8 «»• conda.on •"«» '•9;^'"'V filming contract »p»ci«ie»uon.. OnB.n.1 cop... .o pr.n.-d p.p.' "••" •" "I,""'* b.g.nn.n9 w.th .h. Iron. cov.r .nd •""^'"8 »" ..on. or th. b.cli cov.r wh.n ..ppropri.t.. All otn.r or.gin.l cop... .r. tilm.d b.g.nn.ng on th. l7on .nd .nd.n8 on .n. 1... P-g. «"«" • P""'- or illustr.i.d iiT>pr.»«ion. Th. I..t r.cord,d fr.m. on ..ch n>.crof.ch. .h.ll cont.in th. .ymool -- """"'"« e£S", TINUED-I. or th. .ymbol V Imo.n.ng END 1. which.v.r .ppli.a- :-:-gtr:r:='^r° m.thod: L'.x.mpl.ir. tilm* fut r.produit gract t la gtnaroiit* da: Bibliothequa national, du Canada L.« imag.i .uivanta* om *lt r.produit*. av.e I. plu* grand »oin. compt* t.nu d. la condition .i d. la n.it.t* d. I'.n.mplair. film., .t .n conformit* av.e la* condition* du centrat a. •ilmag*. La* .x.mplair.* originaux dont la couvortur* *n papi.r .*t imprim.. »ont film*, .n comm.ncant par I. pr.mi.r plat .t .n t.rminant »o.t pat la d.rn.ar. p*g. qu. compon. un* .mpr.int. d'impr...ion ou d'illu.tration. .oil par I. $.cond plat **lon I. ca*. Too* I** auir** ax.mpla.r.. originaux .ont film** •n commonpant par la pr*mi*r* p*g* qui compon* un* *mpr*int* d'impr*.*ion ou d'illu.tration at an tarmmant par la darniar* pag* qui eomporta una talla ampraini*. Un da* »vmbol** *uiv*nt« tpparaitra *ur la darniara imaga da <=»D Boy, The (AITArNS ('ot'IAc:(,(iLH foLtHTrj) \r.is»: IiAvs Wmbk.Thi: DfPAITUFKTAL DfTTIES AND HaLLAI>S ANt> llAI- HAtK-kiKIU HaLLAIIH DlVEISITVoPtttAtllt-S, Kvr.fi or Amu. The Five Natiovs, Ti». K«AS( E AT W At hioy Sr.A to Ska HisToiy or KNr.LAND. A VKCit Book Tiik rsdti. Book, Sr.ro>rt) v>.T So >im. B(KHi IST So STOIItS KlPLINH STOJIfrt AND POEUS L\EIIY Chti.D SiiofLD Know Kiri-iNO BniTiinAV HrnrD In Bla(K and White Song or THE Kncmsh, A Sovr.s Fiou Books Stalkv ti Co. Tiirv T«ArFlrs A.N1> DlSCOVM- lES L'.NDEl THE DeoDAIS.ThI Phantom 'Rickshaw, AND Wee WatiE Ww- KIE With the Night Mail Vmbs Betwee I, The RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE INCLUSJVli liDlTION 1885-1918 TORONTO THE COPP-CLARK CO., Limited PUBLISHERS 161092 (^, F- = R. PKINTED IN GARDEN CITV, N. Y., L'. S. A. AM. RIGHTS RESERVED, INCLUDING .HAT OF TRANSLATION INTO FOREIGN LANGUAGES, INCLUDING THE SCANDINAVIAN MADE ir4 U. S. A. CONTENTS "A Servant When He Rcigneth" Absent-Minded Beggar, The American, An . American Rebellion, The Anchor Song "Angutivaiin Taina" Answer, The Anvil, The Arithmetic on the Frontier Army Headquarters "As the Bell Clinks". Astrologer's Song, An "Back to the Armv Again" Ballad of Boh Da Thone, The Ballad of Burial, A Ballad of East and West The Ballad of Mmepit Shaw, The Ballad of the BoJivar, The Ballad of the Champhndown, The Ba ad of the King's Jest, The . Ballad of the King's AJercv, The Ballad of the Red Earl, The Ballad- of jakkoH|||_^ Bee-Boy's Song, The. Bees and the Flies, The "Before a Midnight Breaks in Storm Begmnmgs, The . Bell Buoy, The . Bells and Queen Victona, The Belts ... Benefactors, The Betrothed, The ! . ' Big Steamers . Bill 'Awkins . "Birds of Prey Blue Roses "Bobs" . Boots . , The ' March , PAOI 6}8 523 aio 76J \^^ 733 425 748 50 J 59 654 487 293 35 268 45 725 156 158 283 279 263 56 659 609 337 739 339 768 472 39' 53 7'5 504 490 695 449 538 CONTENTS fagi Boy Scouts' Patrol Song, A ;ji4 Bridge-Guard in the Karroo 234 British-Roman Song, A . . . 614 Broken Men, The no Brookland Road 5J9 "Brown Bess" 760 Buddha at Kamakura 105 Burial, The a-jg Butterflies 697 "By the Hoof of the Wild Goat" 690 Captive, The 598 Carol, A 579 Chant-Pagan 524 Cells 460 Certain Maxims of Hafiz 68 Chapter Headings Beast and Man in India 634 Fringes of the Fleet 639 Just-So Stories 669 Kim 637 Life's Handicap 6j6 Many Inventions ... 637 Plain Tales from the Hills 573 The Jungle Books 705 The Light That Failed 606 The Naulahka 603 Charm, A , . . , ^, 569 Chil's Song 597 Children, The 587 Children's Song, The 642 Choice, The 212 Cholera Camp 500 Christmas in India 61 " Cities and Thrones and Powers" 554 City of Sleep, The 677 "Cleared" 259 Coastwise Lights, The 195 Code of Morals, A . . 13 Cold Iron 577 Columns 530 Comforters, The 681 Conundrum of the Workshops, The 386 Covenant, The 367 Craftsman, The . . 400 Cruisers 161 CONTENTS Cuckoo Song . Dtncgeld . . Danny Deever Dance's Chaunt Dawn Wind, The Dead King, The Death-Bed, A. ... Declaration of London, The Dedication from "Barrack Room Dedication— To Soldiers Three Deep-Sea Cables, The Delilah Derelict, The . . Destroyers, The . . Dirge of Dead Sisters Divided Destinies . Dove of Dacca, The . Dutch in the Medway, Th Dykes, The . 'Eathen, The . Eddi's Serviae Edgehill Fight . Egg-Shell, The . En-Dor England's Answer English Flag, The Epitaphsof the War Et Dona Ferentes Evarra and His Gods Exiles Line, The Explanation, The Explorer, The. . Fabulists, The . Fairies' Siege, The . Fall ofjock Gillespie, The Female of the Species, The Feet of the Young Men, Th Files, The ... Fires, The . . First Chantey, The Floods, The . Flowers, The . "Follow Me 'Ome" "For All We Have and Arc "For to Admire" -. lallads 747 45> 737 75a 2S6 329 354 95 700 ■99 7 170 164 349 38 J91 759 355 5"3 58. ■ 758 . 710 4>7 J03 ■ 552 440 ■ 388 187 423 119 611 J87 73 418 3" 401 93 ■83 567 116 507 378 510 UJNTENTS Ford o' Kabul River '""' Four Angels, The **' France ... 73° Frankie's Trade . -3^5 French Wars, The 7f9 "Fuzzy-Wuzzy" 764 Galley-Slave, The -"S Gallic's Song '■* ^.. O <^B Oehazi General Jouberi General Summary, A Gentlemen-Rankers Gethsemane . . Giffen'sDebt. '" Gift of the Sea, The. 9? Gipsy Trail, The . , . "•" Glory of the Garden, The ^?7 Gow's Watch 769 Grave of the Hundred Head, The l* Great-Heart ^ Greek National Anthem, The 77' GungaDin '°7 Hadramanti . J" Half-Ballad of Waterval '°' 608 277 277 4 483 Harp Song of the Dane Wo 544 "Helen aS Alone" "'" ' [93 Heriot's Ford . . " *78 Heritage, The. . , Ji? Holy War, The . . . . ! ^ ! ' ^ ' ■'^ Houses, The •^^'^ Hunting-Song of the Seeonee Pack ^°* Hya-nas, The 734 Hymn Before Action. ^^ If- 373 ImperialRescript, An ..... .^ ^*^ In Springtime •'^7 Instructor, The ' In the Matter of One Corapafs. '^^ In the Neolithic Age ''^ Irish Guards, The ^93 Islanders, The "+ Jacket, The . . 347 James I ... 5" Jester, The .....' 757 Jobson's Amen 5*^ 57' CONTENTS Cat tie Tl The Thomas, Thi Jubal and Tubal Cain Juggler's Song, The Justice King Henry Vll and t Kmg, The . King's Job, The . King's Task, The. Kingdom, The Kitchener's School L'Envoi La Nuit Blanche . Ladies, The Lament of the Bordi Land, The. Last Chantey, The Last Department, The Last of the Light Brigad, Last Rhyme of True Tho Last Suttee, The . Law of the Jungle, The Legend of Mirth, The Legend of the Foreign Office \ Legends of Evil, The Lesson, The Lichtenberg Liner She's a Lailv, The Long Trail, The .' Looking-Glass, The Loot Lord Roberts . Lost Legion, The Ixjve Song of Har Dyal, The Lovers' Litany, The . Lowestoft Boat, The. "Lukannon" M. L . M 'Andrew's Hymn Macdonough's Song Man Who Could Write Mandalay . . _ ' Married Man, The Mary Glosler, The "Mary Pity Women!" Mary's Son . Masque of Plenty^ The igh; The The FAOI 62J 7JO 446 721 459 75J 713 561 2JI 9J 3< 502 .109 666 .84 228 4J0 Vi 626 582 9 404 J44 54" 181 675 466 222 700 34 7>7 (■S3 527 '37 630 •9 476 539 ■47 518 426 39 CONTENTS Merchantmen, The '*"' Merrow Down fj Mesoporamij ? Mine Sweepers ^ Miracles, The ^^ Moon of Other Days, The .....,.' ^ ' ',2 Morning Song of the Jungle /J Mother-Lodge, The . " . °?* Mother o' Mine i ' Mowgli's Song Against People ,['''' Mulholland's Contract . . ' ■; MunicipJ ... ■*' ■My Boy Jack " Mv Father's Chair . ;•*" Mv Lady's Law . . i'Z ■■ My New-Cut .Ashlar" . . T My Rival 5»0 Native Born, The , | Nativity, A "o Natural Theology Necessitarian, The ^'| New Knighthood, The .^ Norman and Saxon . . -^ North Sea Patrol, The ....!!!! if. Nursing Sister, The . . iX Old Issue, The ... ," Old Men, The ... if. Old Mother Laidinwool . ~ ^ Old Song, An . . . n Oldest Song, The '■'■'■.'..' ,Tl One Viceroy Resigns -8 Only Son, "The ... ^' Oonts 702 "Our Fathers Also" f* "Our Fathers of Old" . ....'.' 6ii Our Lady of the Snows . , .... 308 Outlaws, The . . . Outsong in the Jungle rnt Overland Mall, The , " Pagctt, NL P. . . ■ , Palace, The ■ ^ ■ ^ .'■■■' 4^8 Pan in Vermont ^ Parade Song of the Camp-Animals 5 .1 Parting of the Columns, The -A Pharaoh and the Sergeant ] "^i CONTENTS Pict Song, A Piet Pilgrim's Wny, A . Pink Dominoes Pirates in England, The P^a of the Simla Dancers, The Poor Honest Men" Pnseidon's Law Possibilities Post hat Fitted, The Prairie, The . Prayer, The . Prayer of Miriam Coheni The I relude to Departmental Dittie Press, The Pro-Consuls, The Prodigal Son, The Prophets at Home Public Waste ... Puck's Song Puzzler, The . , . ' Queen's Men, The Question, The Rabbi's Sone, The Rebirth ." Recall, The Recantation, A , Recessional Reeds of Runnymcde, The Reformers, The Return, The . Return of the Children, The Rhyme of the Three Captains Rhyme of the Three Sealers Rimini Rimmon Ripple Song, A River's Tale, The Road-Song of the Bandar-Ug Roman Centurion's Song, The Romulus and Remus Route Marchin' Rowers, The Run of the Downs, The . Rupaiyat of Omar Kal'vin, Thi A14 546 • 45.1 SO ■ 746 • 57 . 618 . 716 ■ 49 II • 570 ■ 740 . 680 3 600 ■ ly . 646 . 621 'S • 555 .■ 599 . 676 ■ 316 ■ 658 ■ 649 • 554 ■ 421 ■ 377 ■ 750 .166 551 661 3*> 1:9 6,7 .159 696 T4J 610 744 704 484 325 558 CONTENTS Russia to the Pacifists ... ,|o Sack of the Gods, The * ' <6o Sacrifice of Er-Heb. The . . . ' ' ;„- St. Helena Lullaby, A ^^ Sappe" ■ i 494 School Song, A gj. Screw-Guns ..o Sea and the Hills, The ... ,J- Sca-Wife,The '.'.'.'.'.'.'. lol Second Voyage, The ! ! 170 Secret of the Machines, The 766 Sergeant's Weddin", The COo Service Man, The «2 Sestina of the Tramp-Roval ... 100 Settler, The '!!!.' 242 Seven Watchmen ^g Shillin* a Day gg Shiv and the Grasshopper .... cSe Shut-Eye Sentry, The ■.'.-....'..[.[] cii Sir Richard's Song C64 Smuggler's Song, A ' . ! 720 "Snarieyow" .460 Soldier, Soldier ._ "Soldier an' Sailor Too" . ^ ,g2 Song at Cock-Crow, A ' -- Song in Storm, A igq Song of Diego Valdez, The ' ' j-- Song of Kabir, A --g Song of the Banjo, The i j ,, Song of the Cities, The 2qq Song of the Dead, The 196 Song of the English, A ! 104 Song of the Fifth River ' ^ ^ . 640 Song of the Lathes, The ' " - ._ Song of the Little Hunter, The . . 6S3 Song of the Men's Side . .,^- Song of the Red War-Boat ..,....' 601 Song of the Sons, The . . . 2^^ Song of the White Men, A 124 Song of the Wise Children ! 101 Song of the Women, The 52 Song of Seven Cities, The 65o Song of Travel, A g-j Song to Mithras, A c8q Sons of Martha, The , . 436 CONTENTS South Africa . Spies' March, The Stellenbosh . Story of Ung, The Story of Uriah, The Study of an Elevation, in India In Stranger, The Sussex Tale of Two Cities, A Tarrant Moss That Day . . "The City of Brass ^ 1 he Power of the Dog " The Trade" . Things and the Man Thorkild's Song Thousandth Man, The Three-Decker, The Three-Part Song, A . To the City of Bombay To the True Romance To the Unknown Goddess To Thomas Atkins . 'Together "... Tomlinson. Tommy Translation, A Tree Song, A . , Troopin' ... Truce of the Bear, The Truthful Song, A . Two Kopjes . Two Months . Two-Sided Man, The Ubique Ulster ... Undertaker's Horse, The VaiTipire, The. . Verdicts, The . Verses on Games . Veterans, The. . Virginity, The Voortrekker, The Wage-Slaves, The PAQI ■ «7 117 543 ■ .W7 II 6 . 616 . 144 86 . 562 • 497 J6, 498 . 6j6 ■ 711 240 7J1 594 379 55S 205 97 26 448 756 411 453 652 565 478 3'6 718 535 92 652 550 266 77 2 J- 1 '63 408 35 > 403 623 355 CONTENTS Way Through the Woods, The Wet Litany, The What Hiippcned What the People sal.l When Earth's Last Picture is Painted " When the Great Ark " White Horses . . White Man's Burden, The Widow at Windsor, The Widow's Party, The Widower, The "Wilful-Missing" Winners, The Wishing Caps, The With Drake in the Tropics With Scindia to Delhi Young British Soldier, The Young Queen, The Zion .... rtaa 557 '7 75 IJD 630 l66 37' 47° 479 68o 548 595 689 755 186 474 214 104 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE INCLUSIVE EDITION 1885-1918 PRELUDE (To Depanmnual Ditilii) I havt eaten your bread and salt. I have drunk your water and wine. Ihe deaths ye died I have watched beside yindthe lives ye led were mine. ffas there aught that I did not share In vigil or toil or ease,— One joy or woe that I did not know. Dear hearts across the seas ? I have written the tale of our life For a sheltered people's mirth, Jn jesting guise—but ye are wise, And ye know wnat Ihe jest is worth. RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE A GENERAL SUMMARY ■y^E are very slightly changed From the semi-apes who ranged India's prehistoric clay; He that drew the longest bow Ran his brother down, you know, As we run men down to-day. "Dowb," the first of all his race, Met the Mammoth face to face On the lake or in the cave: Stole the steadiest canoe, Ate the quarry others slew. Died — and took the finest grave. When they scratched the reindeer-born.' Some one made the sketch his own, Filched it from the artist — then. Even in those eitrly days. Won a simple Viceroy's praise Through the toil of other men. Ere they hewed the Sphinx's visage Favouritism governed kissage. Even as it does in this age. Who shall doubt "the secret hid Under Cheops' pyramid" Was that the contractor did Cheops out of several millions? Or that Joseph's sudden rise To Comptroller of Supplies Was a fraud of monstrous size On King Pharaoh's swart Civilians? INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 Thus, the artless songs I sing Do not deal with anything New or never said before. As it was in the beginning Is to-day official iinning. And shall be for evermore! ARMY HEADQUARTERS Old is the song that I sing — Old as my unpaid bills — Old as the chicken that kilmutgars^ bring Men at dak-bungalows— old as the Hills. ^HASUERUS JENKINS of the "Operatic Own," Was dowered with a tenor voice of j»pfr-Santley tone. His views on equitation were, perhaps, a trifle queer. He had no seat worth mentioning, but oh! he had an ear. He clubbed his wretched company a dozen times a day; He used to quit his charger in a parabolic way; His method of saluting was the joy of all beholders. But Ahasuerus Jenkins had a head upon his shoulders. He took two months at Simla when the year was at the spring. And underneath the deoilars eternally did sing. He warbled like a Iml-bul' but particularly at Cornelia Agrippina, who was musical and fat. She controlled a humble husband, who, in turn, controlled a Dept. Where Cornelia Agrippina's human singing-birds were kept From April to October on a plump retainin_j-fee. Supplied, of course, per mensem, by the Indian Treasury. 'Waiters. 'Nighringale. 6 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Cornelia used to sing with him, and Jenkins used to play; He praised unblushingly her notes, for he was false as they; So when the winds of April turned the budding roses brown] Cornelia told her husband:— "Tom, you mustn't send him down." They haled him from his regiment, which didn't much regret him; They found for him an office-stool, and on that stool they set him To play with maps and catalogues three idle hours a day. And draw his plump retaining-fee— which means his double pay. Now, ever after dinner, when the coffee-cups are brought, Ahasuerus waileth o'er the grand pianoforte; And, thanks to fair Cornelia, his fame hath waxen great. And Ahasuerus Jenkins is a Power in the State! STUDY OF AN ELEVATION, IN INDIAN INK This ditty is a string of lies. But — how tlie deuce did Gubbins rise? pOTIPHAR GUBBINS, C. E., Stands at the top of the tree; And I muse in my bed on the reasons that led To the hoisting of Potiphar G. Potiphar Gubbins, C.E., Is seven years junior to Me; Each bridge that he makes either buckles or breaks, And his work is as rough as he. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 Potiphar Gubbins, C.E., Is coarse as a chimpanzee; And I can't understand why you gave him your hand, Lovely Mehitabel Lee. Potiphar Gubbins, C.E., Is dear to the Powers that Be; For They bow and They smile in an affable style. Which is seldom accorded to Me. Potiphar Gubbins, C.E., Is certain as certain can be Of a highly paid post which is claimed by a host Of seniors— including Me. Careless and lazy is he. Greatly inferior to Me. What is the spell that you manage so well. Commonplace Potiphar G.? Lovely Mehitabel Lee, Let me inquire of thcu, Should I have riz to what Potiphar is, Hadst thou been mated to Me ? DELILAH We have another Viceroy now, those days are dead and done Of Delilah Aberyswith and depraved Ulysses Gunne. QELILAH ABERYSWITH was a lady-not too young- W:th a perfect taste in dresses and a badly-bitted tongue. With a thirst for information, and a greater thirst for praise, And a little house in Simla in the Prehistoric Days. 8 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE By reason of her marriage to a gentleman in power, Delilah was acqnainted with the gossip of the hour; And many littlj secrets, of the half-official kind. Were whispered to Delilah, and she bore them all in mind. She patronised extensively a man, Ulysses Gunne, Whose mode- of earning money was a low and shameful one. He wrote for certain papers which, as everybody knows, Is worse than serving in a shop or scaring off the crows. He praised her "queenly beauty" first; and. later on, he hinted At the " vastness of her intellect " with compliment unstinted. He went with her a-riding, and his love for her was such That he lent her all his horses and — she galled them verv much. One day, They brewed a secret of a fine financial sort; It related to ."Vppointmertts, to a Man and a Report. 'Twas almost worth the keeping, — only seven people knew it— And Gunne rose up to seek the truth and patiently ensue it. It was a Viceroy's Secret, but — perhaps the wine was red — Perhaps an Aged Councillor had lost his aged head — Perhaps Delilah's eyes were bright — Delilah's whispers sweet — The Aged Member told her what 'twere treason to repeat. Ulysses went a-riding, and they talked of love and flowers; Ulysses went a-calling, and he called for several hours; Ulysses went a-waltzing, and Delilah helped him dance — Ulysses let the waltzes go, and waited for his chance. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 9 The summer sun was setting, and the summer air was still The couple went a-walking in the shade of Summer Hill. The wasteful sunset faded out in turkis-green and gold I lysses pleaded softly, and . . . that bad Delilah told! Next morn, a startled Kmpire learnt the all-important news- Next week, the Aged Councillor was shaking in his shoes. Next month, I met Delilah and she did not show the least Hesitation m affirmmg that Ulysses 'vas a "beast." We have another \-iceroy now, those days are dead and done — Of, Delilah Aberyswith and most mean Ulysses Gunne! A LEGEND OF THE FOREIGN OFFICE This is the re. .on why-Rustum Beg, R.ijah of Kolaz.ii, Drinketh the "simpkin"' and brandy peg, Maketh the money to fly, V'exeth a Government, tender and kind, Also— but this is a detail— blind. J^USTUM BEG of Kolazai-slightly backward Native State- Lusted for a C. S. I.=— so began to sanitate. Built a Gaol and Hospital— nearly built a City drain— lill his faithful subjects all thought their ruler was insane. Strange departures made he then— yea. Departments stranger still: Half a dozen Englishmen helped the Rajah with a will, Talked of noble aims and high, hinted of a future fine For the State of Kolazai, on a strictly Western line. ' Champagne. ' The order of the .Star of India. lo RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Rajah Rustum held his peace; lowered octroi i' s a half; Organised a State Police; purified the Civil Staff; Settled cess and tax afresh in a very liberal way; Cut temptations of the flesh — also cut the Bukhshi's' pay; Roused his Secretariat to a fine Mahratta fury, By an Order hinting at supervision of dasturi;^ Turned the State of Kolnzai very nearly upside-down; When the end of May was nigh waited his achievement's Then the Birthday Honours came. Sad to state and sad to see, Stood against the Rajah's name nothing more than C.I.EM ... Things were lively for a week in the State of Kolazai, Even now the people speak of that time regretfully. How he disendowed the Gaol — stopped at once the City drain; Turned to beauty fair and frail — got his senses back again; Doubled taxes, cesses, all; cleared away each new-built thana; ' Turned the two-lakh Hospital into a superb Zenana; Heaped upon the Bukhshi Sahib wealth and honours mani, fold; Clad himself in Eastern garb — squeezed his people as of old. Happy, happy Kolazai! Never more will Rustum Beg Play to catch his Viceroy's eye. He prefers the "simpkin" peg- 'The Commander in chief. ' Bribes. ' A Companionship of the order of the Indian Empire. 'Police station. INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 THE STORY OF URIAH "Nov, there were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.' JACK BARRETT went to yuetta Because they told him to. He left his wife at Simla On three-fourths his monthly screw. Jack Barrett died at Quctta Ere the next month's pay he drew. Jack Barrett went to Quetta. He didn't understand The reason of his transfer From the pleasant mountain-land. The season was September, And it killed him out of hand. Jack Barrett went to Quetta And there gave up the ghost, Attempting two men's duty In that very healthy post; And Mrs. Barrett mourned for him Five lively months at most. Jack Barrett's hones at Quetta Enjoy profound re]iose; But I shouldn't be astonished If «o!o his spirit knows The reason of his transfer From the Himalayan snows. And, when the Last Great Bugle Call Adown the Hurnai throbs, And the last grim joke is entered In the big black Book of Jobs, RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE And Quetta graveyards give again Their victims to the air, I shouldn't like to be the man Who sent Jack Barrett there. THE POST THAT FITTED Though tangleil and twisted the course of true love This ditty explains, No tangle's so tangled it cannot improve If the Lover has brains. FRE the steamer bore him Eastward, Sleary was engaged to marry An attractive girl at Tunbridge, whom he called "my little Carrie." Sleary's pay was very modest; Sleary was the other wav. Who can cook a two-plate dinner on eight poor rupees a day? Long he pondered o'er the question in his scantly furnished quarters — Then proposed to Minnie Boffkin, eldest of Judge Boffkin's daughters. Certainly an impecunious Subaltern w.is not a catch. But the Boffkins knew that Minnie mightn't make another match. So they recognised the business and, to feed and clothe the bride. Got him made a Something Something somewhere on the Bombay side. .Anyhow, the billet carried pay enough for him to marry — As the artless Sleary put it: — "Just the thing for me and Carrie." INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 ,3 Did he therefore, jilt Miss Boffkin-impulse of a baser mind > No! He started epilepfc fits of an appalling kind. |Ut his modus operandi only this much I could Rather— "latherT^' ''''''' "'" ®"'''' ^™' ''"'" *''""' ''"''''°" "^ Frequently in public places his afflicric^n used to smite Meary w,th distressing vig<,ur-alway.s in the Boffkins' sight hre a week was ,n^r Minnie weepingly returned his ring I old him his unhappy weakness" stopped all thought of marrying. e ■• "• Sleary bore the information with a chastened holy j„y- hpileptic fits don t matter in Political employ,- ^ ^ hf/'kit- " ""'' '" ^■'"''^-'""^ his ticket, packed Bade farewell to Minnie Boffkin in one last, long, lingering fit. Four weekskter, Carrie Sleary read-and laughed until she Mrs. Boffkin's warninglctter on the "wretched epilept " W^ldn^'foTrV'^.r'""'!'".''-''""' ''""S^'"' ^^''- «°'l^l^i" xi'"' ' Waiting for the Sleary babies to develop Sleary 's fits. A CODE OF IMOR.ALS Lest you should think this story true 1 rnerely mention I Kvolvcd it l.uelx. -ris a most Unmitigntcd misstatement. ^^^Vorder''^'^ '''^' '''' """'"'""^ ^"'^' *° """"l' '''■' '^""^'^ And hied away'to the Hurrum Hills above the Afghan border ILIT T'^ T^ =• heliograph; but ere he Ic^t he taught' na 't "°^ ^"^ "'^ ^°^' '•'^^ ^"'^ 'he miles at U RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE And Love had made him very sage, as Nature made her fair- So Cupid and Apollo linked, per heliograph, the pair. At dawn, across the Hurrum Hills, he flashed her counsel wise — At c'cn, the dying sunset bore her husband's homilies. He warned her "gainst seductive youths in scarlet clad and gold, _ As much as 'gainst the blandishments paternal of the old- But kept his gravest warnings for (hereby the ditty hangs) That snowy-haircd Lothario, Lieutenant-General Bangs. 'Twas General Bangs, with Aide and .Staff, who tittupped on the way. When they beheld a heliograph tempestuously at play. They thought of liorder risings, and of stations sacked and burnt — So stopped to take the message down— and this is what they learnt — "Da.sh dot dot dot, dotdash, dot da,sh dot" twice. The General swore. "Was ever General Officer addres.sed as 'dear' before? '"My Love,' i' faith! 'My Duck,' Gadzooks! 'My darling popsy-wop!' "Spirit of great Lord Wolseley, who is on that mountain- top i' " The artless Aide-de-camp was mute; the gilded StaflF were still, As, dumb with pent-up mirth, they booked that messace from the hill; ^ For clear as summer lightning-flare, the husbaml's warnine ran:— ^ "Don't dance or ride with General Bangs— a most immoral man." INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 ,5 [At d.w„.^«ro« the Hurrum Hill,, he flashed her ccunse! Some mteres.mg details of the General's private l''".! shining Stafl^ were The artless Aide-de-camp was mute, the still, And red and ever redder ur,u, .u n i- . 4r„l »!,■ ■ L , Ki^cw the Cieneras shaven L'ill .^nd this IS what he sa il ir l-,c. it,- i- i- """•' h'"- PUBLIC WASTE Walpole talk, or"a man an>l hU pric,;." 1. 1st to a ditty queer— The sale of a Deputy-Acting. Vke- Resiilent-Engineer, Bought like a bullock, hoof and hide By the L,t,le Tin Gods on the Mountain Si.le. ^""Tfttr"^"" """''^' '■'"■'•■ '"' ^"«- - 'etters '''" wt-'oS:' '""' ""''''-- - --^^- '"e RaiU ^'""V'^sl St"" '''' '''-'" -' ^'•^ -">«' -herein ^~ tt^r "•" '"' "°' ^^'"' '^="'->-» '''^ know. »> I'- RUDYARD KIPLING S VERSE Now txetcr Battlcby Tring had lahourcil from bovhood to eld On the Lines of the East and the West, and eke of the North and South; Many Lines had he built and surveveil-imiwrtant the posts which he held; And the Lords of the Iron Horse were dund> when he opened his mouth. Black as the raven his garb, and his heresies jetticr still— Hintini5 that Railways rei|uired lifetimes of study and know- ledge— Never clanked sw.,rd by his side -Vauban he knew not nor drill— Nor was his name on the list of the men who had passed through the "College." Wherefore the Little Tin Goils harried their little tin souls, Seemg he came not from Chatham, jingled no spurs at his heels. Knowing that, nevertheless, was he first on the Government rolls Kor the billet of "Railway Instructor to Little Tin Gods on Wheels." Letters not seldom they wrote him, "having the honour to state," It would be better for all men if he we,e laid on the shelf Much would accrue to his bank-book, an he consented to wait Lntil the Little Im Go K ' '•''''"■ '•"'' '^'''"'' i8 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE They were unenlightened men, Ballard knew them not. They procured their swords and guns chiefly on the spot; And the lore of centuries, plus a hundred fights, Made them slow to disregard one another's rights. With a unanimity dear to patriot hearts .All those hairy gentlemen out of foreign parts Said: "The good old days are back— let us go to war!" Swaggered down the Granil Trunk Road into Bow Bazaar. Nubbee Baksh Punjabi Jat found a hide-bound flail; Chimbu Singh from Bikaneer oiled his Tonk jezail; Yar Mahommcd Yusufzai spat and grinned with glee As he ground the butcher-knife of the Khyberee. Jowar Singh the Sikh procured sabre, quoit, and mace, Abdul Huq, Wahabi, jerked his dagger from its place, ' While amid the jungle-grass danced and grinned and jabbered Little Boh Hla-oo and cleared his dah-blade from the scab- bard. What became of Mookerjee? Soothly, who can say> Yar Mahommed only grins in a nasty way, Jowar Singh is reticent, Chimbu Singh is mute. But the belts of all of them simply bulge with loot. What became of Ballard's guns.' Afghans black and grubby Sell them for their silver weight to the men of Pubbi; And the shiny bowie-knife and the town-made sword are Hanging in a Marri camp just across the Border. What became of Mookerjee ? Ask Mahommed Yar Prodding Siva's sacred bull down the Bow Bazaar. Speak to placid Nubbee Baksh— question land and sea- Ask the Indian Congressmen— only don't ask me! INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 , THE MAN WHO mULD WRITE Shun-shun the Bowl! |h;,t f.i„l, r..ci;e :ri„k Has rumed many ge« „ h. Jipp^d th^r ouill, in 'f Br,be, murder, marry, b ,„eerclarof nk Save when you write r..cit,.„ .v: , aid-up bill, in ', There may be silver in the "blue-black "Jail / know of IS the iron and the gall. B^^NERGES BLITZEN, servant of the Queen, I a d,smal fa.lure-Ks a Might-have-been. ' In a luckless moment he discovered men Kise to high position through a ready pen. Boanerges Blitzen argued therefore-"! VV.th the selfsame weapon, can attain as high." Only he did not possess when h. made the trial. Wicked wit of C-iv-n, irony of L— 1. (Men who spar with Government need, to back their blow. Something more than ordinary journalistic prose!] ' TinlVZ"^ ^'"'"'""^ P~^P^"^ ^''^ ^° bright, 1 HI an Indian paper found that he could write- Never young Civilian's prospects were so dark,' VVhen the wretched Blitzen wrote to make his mark. In that Indian paper-made his seniors squirm Quoted office scandals, wrote the tactlessluth- Was there ever known a more misguided youth :■ When the Rag he wrote for praised his plucky game Boanerges Bl.tzen felt that this was Fame; ^ ^ ' When the men he wrote of shook their heads and swore Boanerges Blitzen only wrote the more: ' 20 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Posed as Young Ithuriel, resolute and grim, Till he found promotion didn't come to him; Till he found that reprimands weekly were his lot, And his many Districts curiously hot. Till he found his furlough strangely hard to win, Boanerges Blitzen didn't care a pin: Then it seemed to dawn on him something wasn't right- Boanerges Blitzen put it down to "spite"; Languished in a District desolate and dry; Watched the Local Government yearly pass him by; Wondered where the hitch was; called it most unfair. Thafwas seven years ago — and he still is there! PINK DOMINOES "They are fools who kiss and tell" Wisely has the poet sung. Man may hold all sorts of posts If he'll only hold his tongue. f ENNY and Me were engaged, you see. On the eve of the Fancy Ball; So a kiss or two was nothing to you Or any one else at all. Jenny would go in a domino — Pretty and pink but warm; While I attended, clad in a splendid .Austrian uniform. Now we had arranged, through notes exchanged Early that afternoon. At Number Four to waltz no more. But to sit in the dusk and spoon. INCLUSIVr- EDITION, 1885-1918 I wjsh you to see that Jenny and Me Had barely exchanged our troth; i>o a kiss or two was strictly due "y, >rom, and between us both. When Three was over, an eager lover, And a Domino came out also Whom I took for my future bride. That is to say, in a casual wav, 1 slipped my arm around her: AJrl "' 'r ^.^•'"■^'' '" "Whing to you) And ready to kiss I found her. ^ '' 3'^r!J::^^::?r±-'"e she said R, ! J"j*J'"'"-''« • Till the Waler jumped a bullock just above the City Urain; And the next that I remember was a hurricr."e of squeals. And the creature making toothpicks of my five-foot patent wheels. He seemed to want the owner, so I fled, distraught with fear, To the Main Drain sewage-outfall while he snorted in my Reached the four-foot drain-head safely and, in darkness and despair, Felt the brute's proboscis fingering my terror-stittened hair. 'Mad. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 23 "'"'^W,gCrT' °" ""y shoulder-tried to crawl a little '°""'f^« ut:it^Jrr''^^ °"'^^" '^-''^'' -- eight Befoi-e'thev r=,ir , ^!!'°"' ''"^ ""y l^^'^ ^^' '"^"'"S grey Therit:;S'r c t7K^ld'^r ^ ^^ "^ ' ^"^^- plainf c-'aers, and my words were very They flu^shed that four-foot drain-head a„d-it never choked ''" Tge'^Ifre*'"' '"^^'"-'^-'-ge, and the sun-for-gar- ™^:::eitnisTcSf^'"^-^'^"''-— And,fy„udo„-t believe :^iJ^^f;t-'-^|^ THE LAST DEPARTMENT Twelve hundred million men are spread About this Earth, and 1 and You Wonder, when You and I are dead. What will those luckless millions do?" NONE whole or clean," we cry, "or free from stain Of favour Wa>t awhile, till we attain Ihe Last Department where nor fraud nor fools Nor grade nor greed, shall trouble us again ' ' Hunted. 24 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Pear, Favour, or Affection — what are these To the grim Head who claims our services? I never knew a wife or interest yet Delay that pukka step, miscalled "decease"; When leave, long overdue, none can deny; When idleness of all Eternity Becomes our furlough, and the marigold Our thriftless, bullion-minting Treasury Transferred to the Eternal Settlement, Each in his strait, wood-scantl»d office pent. No longer Brown reverses S..iith's appeals, Or Jones records his Minute of Dissent. And One, long since a pillar of the Court, As mud between the beams thereof is wrought; And One who wrote on phosphates for the crops Is subject-matter of his own Report. These be the glorious ends whereto we pass — Let Him who Is, go call on Him who Was; And He shall see the ma//ie' steals the slab For currie-grinder, and for goats the grass. A breath of wind, a Border bullet's flight, A draught of water, or a horse's fright — The droning of the fat S/ieristadar' Ceases, the punkah stops, and falls the night For you or Me. Do those who live decline The step that offers, or their work resign? Trust me. To-day's Most Indispensables, Five hundred men can take your place or mine. ^The cemetery gardener. 'Clerk of the court. INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 MY RIVAL I ^, '° concert, party, ball- . What profit is in these? i sit alone against the wail And strive to look at ease. i he, ncense that is mine by right They burn before Her shrine; '^nd she is forty-nine. I cannot check my girlish blush. My colour comes and goes J redden to my finger-tips And sometimes to my nose. Th M u "^^""^ '^^ ^li^ld shine, ^'l'^^'"^!' that flies at seventeen Js hxed at forty-nine. I wish /had her constant cheek: J wish that I could sing All sorts offunny little songs. Not quite the proper thing. Jmvery^«„,/,, and very shy Her jokes aren't in my line; While She is forty-nine. The young men come, the young men so Each pink and white and neat^ '" ^°' She s older than their mothers, but ^ hey grovel at Her feet. 2S RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE They walk beside Her 'rkks'iaw-wheeh — None ever walk by mine; And that's because I'm seventeen And She is forty-nine. She rides with half a dozen men (She calls them "boys" and "mashes"), I trot along the Mall alone; My prettiest frocks and sashes Don't help to fill my programme-card, And vainly I repine From ten to two a.m. .Ah me! Would I were forty-nine. She calls me "darling," "pet," and "dear," .And "sweet retiring maid." I'm always at the back, I know — She puts me in the shade. She introduces me to men — ■ "Cast" lovers, I opine; For sixty takes to seventeen, Nineteen to forty-nine. But even She must older grow And end Her dancing days, She can't go on for ever so At concerts, balls, and plays. One ray of priceless hope I see Before my footsteps shine; Just think, that She'll be eighty-one When I am forty-nine! TO THE UNKNOWN GODDESS \X^ILL you conquer my heart with your beauty, my soul going out from afar? Shall I fall to your hand as a victim of crafty and cautious shikar ? INCLUSIVE EDITION, 188&-1918 ^^ Have I met you and passed you already, unknowing, unthink- ing, and blind? Sha'l I meet you next season at Simla, O sweetest and l.rst oj your kind? Does the P. and O bear you to meward, or, clad in short troiks in the West, Are you growing the charms that shall capture and torture the heart in my breast' Will you stay in the Plains tiil September-mv passion as warm as the day? ' Will you bring me to book on the Mountains, or where the thermantidotes play? When the light of your eyes shall make pallid the mean lesser lights I pursue. And the charm of your presence shall lure me from love of the gay thirteen-two"'; When the "peg"-; and the pigskin shall please not; when I buy me Calcutta-built clothes; When I quit the Delight of Wild Asses, forswearing the swearing of oaths; ^ As a deer to the hand of the hunter when I turn 'mid the gibes of my friends; When the days of my freedom are numbered, and the life of the bachelor ends. Ah, Goddess! child, spinster, or widow-as of old on Mars Hill when they raised To the God that they knew not an altar-so I, a young Pagan, have praised ^ The Goddess I know not nor worship; yet, if half that men tell me be true. You will come in the future, and therefore these verses are written to you. ' Polo-pony. ■ Whisky and soda. 28 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE THE RUPAIYAT OF OMAR KALVIN [Allowing for the difference 'twixt prose and rhymed exaggeration, this ought to renroiluce the sense of what Sir A told the nation some time ago, when the Government struck from our incomes two per cent.} ^■QW the New Year, reviving last Year's Debt, The Thoughtful Kisher casteth wide his Net; So I with begging Dish and ready Tongue Assail all Men tor all that I can get. Imports indeed are gone with all their Dues — Lo! Salt a Lever that I dare not use, Nor may I ask the Tillers in Bengal — Surely my Kith and Kin will not refuse Pay — and I promise by the Dust of Spring, Retrenchment. If my pror i'ses can bring Comfort, Ye have The-n : >. a thousand-fold — By Allah! I will promise Any tiling! Indeed, indeed, Retrenchment oft before I swore — but did I mean it when I swore? And ;hen, and then, We wandered to the Hills, And so the Little Less became Much More. Whether at Boileaugunge or Babylon, I know not how the wretched Thing is done. The Items oi Receipt grow surely small; The Items of Expense mi unt one by one. I cannot help it. What have I to do With One and Five, or Four, or Three, or Two? Let Scribes spit Blood and Sulphur as they please, Or Statesmen call me foolish — Heed not you. INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 Behold, I promise-Anythinc You will. 4k 1 if-'" .>■"" "'''' »" ^"'I'tv Till- Ah! I'dow-SmnL-rs, ofvourChiirity Seek not the Reason of the Dearth but fill. n7w^ 'i"."''^,"",'! '"'"' ^''^■'■'^ "^-^ 'he Gain Of Knowledge.' Would it ease you of your Pain lo know the tanyled Threads of Revenue, i ravel deeper in a hopeless Skein? Of H° ^"t!" "°' P"'']^"""-what was it I said, Of Her who paints Her Eyes and tires Her Head And jibes and mocks the People in the Street ' And fawns upon them for Her thriftless Bread? Accursed is She of Eve's daughters— She Hath cast off Prudence, and Her End shall be Destruct.on . . Brethren, of your HountvKrant Some portion ofyour daily Bread to.V^' ^ ^ jg PAGErr, M.p. The toad beneath the harrow knows txactly where each tooth-point goes; Ihe butterfly upon the roaj Preaches contentment to that toad. ^^U^V'^^-^rT' ^ ''"'■■ ""'' " *^"'=« li»^ therewith - Came on a four months' visit, to "study the East" in Nfo vember, "" """' 'sfpteir'." "'''^ "" ''S"^"^"^ ^°^'"g '" ^'■'^y ti'I JO RUDVARD KIPLING'S VERSE March came in with the koil. I'agett was cool and gay, Called me a "bloated Brahmin," talked o(' my "princely pay." March went out with the roses. "Where is your heat?" said he. "Cuming," said I to Pagett. " Skittles!" said Pagett, M.P. April began with the punkah, coolies, and prickly-heat, — Pagett was dear to mosquitoes, sandflies found him a treat. He grew speckled and lump) — hammered, I grieve to say, Aryan brothers who fanned him, in an illiberal way. May set in with a dust-storm, — Pagett went down with the sun. All the delights of the season tickled him one by one. Imprimis — ten days' "liver" — due to his drinking beer; Later, a dose of fever — slight, but he called it severe. Dysent'ry touched him in June, after the Chola Bursal' — Lowered his portly person — made him yearn to depart. He didn't call me a "Brahmin," or "bloated," or "overpaid," But seemed to think it a wonder that any one ever stayed. July was a trifle unhealthy, — Pagett was ill with fear, Called it the "Cholera Morbus," hinted that life was dear. He babbled of "Eastern exile," and mentioned his home with tears; But I hadn't seen my children for close upon seven years. We reached a hundred and twenty once in the Court at noon, [I've mentioned Pagett was portly] Pagett went ofl^ in a swoon. That was an end to the business. Pagett, the perjured, fled With a practical, working knowledge of "Solar Myths" in his head. ' The earlv rains. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 ,, And I laughed as I drove from the station, but the mirth died out on mv lips As I thought of the fools like Pagett who write of their hastcrn trips," ^"'' '''th.'lTnd "^ '*" '"'^'""' ''''°" *'"' ''"'>■ "'i^overn And I prayed to' the Lord to deliver another one into my hand. LA NUIT ULANCHE A much-discerning Public hold 1 he Singer generally sings 0( [lersonal and private things, And prints and sells his past for gold. Whatever I may here disclaim. The very clever folk I sing to Will most indubitably cling to Their pet delusion, just the same. J HAD seen, as dawn was breaking And I staggered to my rest, Tara Devi softly shaking From the Cart Road to the crest. I had seen the spurs of Jakko „,^^.*''f, ^"^ quiver, swell and sink. Wr..!,. ; '■'"luake or tobacco, : "• ' ' or Night of Drink.' !■ lie ..It , •a-i., fragrant morning 1 observed a camel crawl, Laws of gravitation scorning, On the ceiling and the wall. Then I watched a fender walking. And I heard grey leeches sing, And a red-hot monkey talking Did not seem the proper thing. 3a RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Then a Creature, skinned and crimson, Ran about the floor and cried, And they said I had the "Jims" on. And they dosed me with bromide, And they locked me in my bedroom — Me and one wee Blood Red Mouse — • Though I said: — "To give my head room "You had best unroof the house." But my words were all unheeded, Though I told the grave M.D. That the treatment really needed Was a dip in open sea That was lapping just below me, Smooth as silver, white as snow — And it took three men to throw me When I found I could not go. Half the night I watched the Heavens Fizz like '8i champagne — Fly to sixes and to sevens. Wheel and thunder back again; And when all was peace and order Save one planet nailed askew, Much I wept because my warder Would not let me set it true. After frenzied hours of waiting, When the Earth and Skies were dumb, Pealed an awful voice dictating An interminable sum. Changing to a tangled story — "What she said you said I said — " Till the Moon arose in glory, And I found her ... in my head; INCLUSIVE EDITION, 188&-1918 Then a Face came, blind and weeping, And It couldn't wipe Its eyes, And It muttered I was keeping Back the moonlight from the skies; So I patted It for pity. But It whistled shrill with wrath. And a huge, black Devil City Poured its peoples on my path. So I fled with steps uncertain On a thousand-year long race. But the bellying of the curtain Kept me always in one place. While the tumult rose and maddened To the roar of Earth on fire. Ere it ebbed and sank and saddened To a whisper tense as wire. 33 In intolerable stillness Rose one little, little star. And it chuckled at my illness. And it mocked me from afar; And its brethren came and eyed me. Called the Universe to aid, Till I lay, with n,iught to hide me, 'Neath thi; Scorn of All Things Made. Dun and saffron, robed and splendid Broke the solemn, pitying Day, And I knew my pains were ended. And I turned and tried to pray; But my speech was shattered wholly, And I wept as children weep. Till the dawn-wind, softly, slowly, Brought to burning eyelids sleep. 34 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE THE LOVERS' LITANY pYES of grey — a sodden quay, Driving rain and falling tears, As the steamer puts to sea In a parting storm of cheers. Sing, for Faith and Hope are high — None so true as you and I — Sing the Lovers' Litany: — "Love like ours can never die !" Eyes of black— a throbbing keel. Milky foam to left and right; Whispered converse near the wheel In the brilliant tropic night. Cross that rules the Southern Sky ! Stars that sweep, and turn, and fly Hear the Lovers' Litany; — "Love like ours can never die .'" Eyes of brown — a dusty plain Split and parched with heat of June. Flying hoof and tightened rein. Hearts that beat the ancient tune. Side by side the horses fly, Frame we now the old reply Of the Lovers' Litany: — "Love like ours can never die !" Eyes of blue — the Simla Hills Silvered with the moonlight hoar; Pleading of the waltz that thrills. Dies and echoes round Benmore. "Mabel" "Officers" "Good-bye" Glamour, wine, and witchery — On my soul's sincerity, "Love like ours can never die .'" INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 Maidens, of your charity, Pity my most luckless state. Four times Cupid's debtor I— Bankrupt in quadruplicate. Yet, despite my evil case, An a maiden showed me grace, Four-and-forty times would I Sing the Lovers' Litany: — "Love like ours can neiier die .'" 35 A BALLAD OF BURIAL "Saint Praxtd's ever :e,ii the Church Jor fraci." JF DOWN here I chance to die, Solemnly I beg you take All that is left of "I" To the Hills for old sake's sake. Pack me very thoroughly In the ice that used to slake Pegs I drank when I was dry — This observe for old sake's sake. To the railway station hie, There a single ticket take For Umballa — goods-train — I Shall not mind delay or shake. I shall rest contentedly Spite of clamour coolies make; Thus in state and dignity Send me up for old sake's sake. 36 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Next the sleepy Babu wake, Book a Kaika van "for four." Few, I think, will care to make Journeys with me any more As they used to do of yore. I shall need a "special brake" — 'Thing I never took before — Get me one for old sake's sake. After that — arrangements make. \o hotel will take me in, And a bullock's back would break 'Neath the teak and leaden skin. Tonga-ropes are frail and thin. Or, did I a back-seat take. In a tonga I might spin, — Do your best for old sakt-'s sake. A.' ,er that — your work is done. i.ecollect a P.idre must Mourn the dear departed one — Throw the ashes and the dust. Don't go dowfi at once. I trust You will find excuse to "snake Three days' casual on the bust'," — Get your fun for old sake's sake. I could never stand the Plains. Think of blazing June and May, Think of those September rains Yearly till the Judgment Day! I should never rest in peace, I should sweat and lie awake. Rail me then, on my decease, To the Hills for old sake's sake! ' Three days' leave. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 188S-1918 THE OVERLAND MAIL (Foel-imicr to the Hills.) JN THE name of the Empress of India, make way, O Lords of the Jungle, wherever you roam, ^ I he woods are astir at the close of the dav- I .l'" fL^""^ ""^'''"e ("or letters from Home. In the Name of the Empress, the Overland Mail' 37 W^h a jmgle of b.i'.. as the dusk gathers in. He turns to the footpath that heads up the hill- The bags on h,s back and a cloth round his chin And, tucked m his waistbelt, the Post Office b 11 — Despatched on this date, as received by the rail fer runner, two bags of the Overland Mail." ' ''Has T"""' '" 'Pf 'i u"' *""" '■"'1 i' "■■ ^wi-"- Doefth /"'" ""■'"''l^ ^''^ ™''^- "^ ">"« <^li'"l' by the cliff Does the tempest cry halt? What are tempests to him? In tt n' '%'\' '^'''^ '"°"'''' ''^ ">"»' bear without fail In the Name of the Empress, the Overland Mail. ' From aloe to rose-oak, from rose-oak to fir, hrom level to upland, from upland to crest Irom r,ce.field to rock ridge, fro'm rock-ridge 'to spur Fly t^he^ »ft.sandalled feet, strains the' brawny:* brown From rail to ravine-to the peak from the vale- Up, up through the night goes the Overland Mail. 3R RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE There's a speck on the hillside, a dot on the road — A jingle of bells on the footpath below — There's a scuffle above in the monkey's abode — The world is awake and the clouds are aglow. Kor the great Sun himself must attend to the hail: — "In the Name of the Empress, the Overland Mail!" DIVIDED DESTINIES JT WAS an artless BanJar' and he danced upon a pine. And much I wondered how he lived, and where the beast might dine. And many many other things, till, o'er my morning smoke, I slept the sleep of idleness and dreamt that Bandar spoke. He said:— "O man of many clothes! Sad crawler on the Hills! "Observe, I know not Ranken's shop, nor Ranken's monthly bills! II I take no heed to trousers or the coats that you call dress; "Nor am I plagued with little cards for little drinks at Mess. "I steal the bunnia's grain at morn, at noon and eventide II (For he is fat and I am spare), I roam the mountain-side, II I follow no man's carriage, and no, never in my life "Have I flirted at Peliti's with another Bandar's wife. "O man of futile fopperies — unnecessary wraps; II I own no ponies in the hills, I drive no tallwheeled traps II I buy me not twelve-button gloves, 'short-sixes' eke, or rings, "Nor do I waste at Hamilton's my wealth on 'pretty things.' II I quarrel with my wife at home, we never fight abroad; II But Mrs. B. has grasped the fact I am her only lord. II I never heard of fever— dumps nor debts depress my soul; "And I pity and despise you ! " Here he pouched my break- fast-roll. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 39 H^s hide was very mangey and his face was very red And ever and anon he scratched with energy his head l*s manners were not always nice, but how my spHt cried To be an artless Bandar loose upon the mountain^s.^e! -Makl'Tr"'^","^'"*''/''"'''"-' ^" inscrutable Decree Makers thee a gleesome fleasome Thou, and me a wretched ••Gol^^Depart in peac, my brother, to thy home amid the "Yetjor^et not once a mortal wished to change his lot with THE MASQUE OF PLENTY •aw that it was good. Committee to inqu.re into it; and ^ M'!r~^'*' """"^"', ''V^'"' "^ ^'"•''•- The Incarnation of the Government oj India in the raiment of the An.el o/pLZ i'ngs, to pianoforte accompaniment:- ^ ^ ^ "Y\ST '''''^" '^ *^ shepherd's sweet life' H. .k ^^T^^ *''\/ in his stucco-fronted hut, And the bounding bazugar, By the favour of the King, are as fat as anything, rhey are— they are— they are! 'A list of various Indian tribes and castes. 4* RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Recitative, Government of India, with white satin wings and electro-plated harp: — How beautiful upon the Mountains — in peace reclining, Thus to be assured that our people are unanimously dining. And though there are places not so blessed as others in nat- ural advantages, which, after all, was only to be ex- pected, Proud and glad are we to congratulate you upon the work you have thus ably effected. {Cres.) How be-ewtiful upon the Mountains! Hired Band, brasses only, full chorus: — God bless the Squire And all his rich relations Who teach us poor people We eat our proper rations — We eat our proper rations, In spite of inundations, Malarial exhalations, And casual starvations. We have, we have, they say we have — We have our proper rations! Chorus of the Crystallised Facts Before the beginning of years There came to the rule of the State Men with a pair of shears, Men with an Estimate — Strachey with Muir for leaven, Lytton with locks that 1, Ripon fooling with Heaven, And Temple riding like H — 11! INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 And the bigots took in hand Cess and the falling of rain, And the measure of sifted sand The dealer puts in the grain — Importi by land and sea, To uttermost decimal worth, And registration— free — In the houses of death and of birth. And fashioned with pens ami paper. And fashioned in black and white. With Life for a dickering taper And Death for a blazing light— With the Armed and the Civil Power, That his strength might endure for a span- Prom Adam's Bridge to Peshawur, The Much Administered Man. In the towns of the North and the Kast, They gathered as unto rule, They bade him starve his priest And send his children to school. Railways and roads they wrought. For the needs of the soil within; A time to squabble in court, A time to bear and to grin. And gave him peace in his ways, Jails— and Police to fight. Justice— at length of days. And Right— and Might in the Right. His speech is of mortgaged bedding. On his kine he borrows yet. At his heart is his daughter's wedding, In his eye foreknowledge of debt. He eats and hath indigestion. He toils and he may not stop; His life is a long-drawn question Between a crop and a crop. 43 RUDYARO KIPLING'S VERSE THE MARE'S NEST JANE AUSTEN BEECHER STOWE DE ROUSE Was good beyond all earthly need ; But, on the other hand, her spouse Was very, very bad indeed. He smoked cigars, called churches slow. And raced — but this she did not know. I'or Belial Machiavelli kept The little fact a secret, and. Though o'er his minor .sins she wept, Jane Austen did not understand That Lilly — thirteen-two and bay^ Absorbed one-half her husband's pay. She was so powl she made him worse (Some women are like this, 1 think); He taughr her parrot how to curse, Her .Assam monkey how to drink. He vexed her righteous soul until She went up, and he went down hill. Then came the crisis, strange to say. Which turned a good wife to a better. A telegraphic peon, one day, Brought her — now, had it been a letter Kor Belial Machiavelli, I Know Jane would just have let it lie — But 'twas a telegram instead. Marked "urgent," and her duty plain To open it. Jane Austen read: — "Your Lilly's got a cough again. "'Can't understand why she is kept "At your expense." Jane Austen wept. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 It was a misdirected wire, Her husband was at Shaitanporc. She spread her anger, hot as lire. Through six thin foreign sheets or more, Sent off that letter, vrjte another To her solicitor — and mothtr. Then Belial Machiavelli saw Her error and, 1 trust, his own, Wired to the minion of the Law, And travelled wifeward — not alone. For Lilly — thirteen-two and bay — Came in a horse-box all the wav. 1 iicre was a scene — a weep or two — With many kisses. Austen Jane Rode Lilly all the season through, And never opened wires again. She races now with Belial . . . This Is very sad, but so it is. 4S THE BALLAD OF FISHER'S BOARDING-HOUSE Tha- night, when through the mooring-chains The wide-eyed corpse rolled free. To blunder down by Garden Reach And rot at Kedgeree, The tale the Hughli told the shoal The lean shoal toU to me. ''J'WAS Fultah Fisher's boarding-house. Where sailor-men reside, And there were men of all the ports From Mississip to Clyde, And regally they spat and smoked, And fearsomely they lied. •^was' 46 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE They lied about the purple Sea That gave them scanty bread, They lied about the Earth beneath, The Heavens overhead, For they had looked too often on Black rum when that was red. They told their tales of wreck and wrong, of shame and lust and fraud, They backed their toughest statements with The Brimstone of the Lord, And crackling oaths went to and fro Across the fist-banged board. And there was Hans the blue-eyed Dane, Bull-throated, bare of arm. Who carried on his hairy chest The maid Ultruda's charm — The little silver crucifix That keeps a man from harm. And there was Jake Without-the-Ears, And Pamba the Malay, And Carboy Gin the Guinea cook, And Luz from Vigo Bay, And Honest Jack who sold them slops And harvested their pay. And there was Salem Hardieker, A lean Bostonian he — Russ, German, English, Halfbreed, Finn, Yank, Dane, and Portuguee, At Fultah Fisher's boarding-house They rested from the sea. INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 Now Anne of Austria shared their drinks, Collinga knew her fame. From Tarnau in Galicia To Jaun Bazaar she came. To eat the bread of infamy And take the wage of shame. 47 She held a dozen men to heel — Rich spoil of war was hers, In hose and gown and ring and chain. From twenty mariners. And, by Port Law, that wee<, men called Her Salem Hardieker's. But seamen learnt— what landsmen know- That neither gifts nor gain Can hold a winking Li-jht o' Love Or Fancy's flight restrain, When Anne of Austria rolled her eyes On Hans the blue-eyed Dane. Smce Life is strife, and strife means knife. From Howrah to the Bay, And he may die before the dawn Who liquored out the day. In Fultah Fisher's boarding-house We woo while yet we may. But cold was Hans the blue-eyed Dane, Bull-throated, bare of arm. And laughter shook the chest beneath The maid Ultruda's charm— The little silver crucifix That keeps a man from harm. 48 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE "You speak to Salem Hardieker; "You was his girl, I know. "I ship mineselfs to-morrow, see, "Und round the Skaw we go, "South, down the Cattegat, by Hjelm, "To Besser in Saro." When love rejected turns to hate. All ill betide the man. "You speak to Salem Hardieker" — She spoke as woman can. A scream — a sob — "He called me — names! And then the fray began. An oath from Salem Hardieker, A shriek upon the stairs, A dance of shadows on the wall, A knife-thrust unawares — And Hans came down, as cattle drop, Across the broken chairs. In Anne of Austria's trembling hands The weary head fell low: — "I ship mineselfs to-morrow, straight " For Besser in Saro; "Und there Ultruda comes to me "At Easter, und I go "South, down the Cattegat— What's here? "There — are — no — lights — to — guide ! " The mutter ceased, the spirit passed. And Anne of Austria cried In Fultah Fisher's boarding-house When Hans the mighty died. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 Thus slew they Hans the blue-eyed Dane, Bull-throated, bare of arm, But Anne of Austria looted first The maid Ultruda's charm— The little silver crucifix That keeps a man from harm. 49 POSSIBILITIES A^' ^'^Y '''" '"eath the Simla pine— A fortnight fully to be missed. Behold, we lose our fourth at whist, A chair is vacant where we dine. His place forgets him; other men Have bought his ponies, guns, and traps. His fortune is the Great Perhaps And that cool rest-house down the glen, Whence he shall hear, as spirits may, Our mundane revel on the height Shall watch each flashing 'ricksLw-Vmht Sweep on to dinner, dance, and play. Benmore shall woo him to the ball With lighted rooms and braying band; _ And he shall hear and understand Dream Faces" better than us all. For, think you, as the vapours flee Across Sanjaolie after rain. His soul may climb the hill again To each old field of victory. so RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Unseen, who vomen held so dear, The strong man's yearning to his kind Shaii shake at most the window-blind. Or dull awhile the card-room's cheer. In his own place of power unknown. His Light o' Love another's flame, His dearest pony galloped lame, And he an alien and alone 1 Yet may he meet with many a friend — Shrewd shadows, lingering long unseen Among us when "God save the ^ueen " Shows even "extras" havt' in end. And, when we leave the heated room, And, when at four the lights expire. The crew shall gather round the fire And mock our laughter in the gloom; Talk as we tallied, and they ere death — Flirt wanly, dance in ghostly-wise. With ghosts of tunes for melodies, And vanish at the morning's breath. ARITHMETIC ON THE FRONTIER A GREAT and glorious thing it is To learn, for seven years or so. The Lord knows what of that and this. Ere reckoned fit to face the foe — The flying bullet down the Pass, That whistles clear: "All flesh is grass." INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 Three hundred pounds per annum spent l*or all the murderous intent Comprised in "villainous saltpetre!" And after?-Ask the YusuCzaies What conies of ail our ologies. A scrimmage in a Border Station— A canter down some dark defile— iwo thousand pounds of education IJrops to a ten-rupee jezai/— Shot Vr"'""M ''°""' '^' Squadron's pride, Shot like a rabbit in a ride! No proposition Euclid wrote No formula the text-books know, Wdl turn the bullet from your coat StrlkT / K '"'*"'' downward blow. ThI M^ "''° "^"-shoot straight who can- The odds are on the cheaper man. One sword-knot stolen from the camp Will pay for all the school expenses Who knows no word of moods and tenses But, being blessed with perfect sight, ' ricks off our messmates left and right. With home-bred hordes the hillsides teem. 1 he troopships bring us one by one. At vast expense oftime and steam, To slay Afridis where they run. i he captives of our bow and spear " Are cheap, alas ! as we are dear. 51 5* RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE THE SONG OF THE WOMEN (La "iea, nnjite and hers were coupled by the tonia coupling: For my misty meditation, at the second changing-station. Suffered sudden dislocation, fled before the tuneless jar Of a V\agner obbhgalo, scherzo, double-hand staccato, P ayed on either pony's saddle by the clacking tonga-bar- Played with human speech. I fancied, by the jfgging', jolting "She was sweet," thought I, "last season, but 'twere surely wild unreason ' "Such a tiny hope to freeze on as was offered by my Star, ■B« of theold-fashioncd curricle that took men up ,o Simla befon^ ,h. railroad was made. (a RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE "When she whispered, something sadly: 'I — we feel your going badly!'" " And you let the chance escape you?" rapped the rattling tonga-bar. "What a chance and what an idiot .'" clicked the vicious tonga- bar. Heart of man — O heart of putty! Had I ^'one by Kaka- hutti, On the old Hill-road and rutty, I had 'scaped that fatal car. But his fortune each must bide by, so I watched the milf- stones slide by To — "You call on Her to-morrow !" fugue with cymbals by the bar — " You must call on Her to-morrow '." — post-horn gallop by the bar. Yet a further stage my goal on — we were whirling down to Solon, With a double lurch and roll on, best foot foremost, lanz und gai — "She was eery sweet," I hinted. "If a kiss had b^cn im- printed .'" " 'Would ha' saved a world of trouble I" clashed the busv tonga-bar. "'Been accepted or rejected 1" bangeil and clanged the tonga- bar. Then a notion wild and daring, 'spite the income-tax's paring And a hasty thought of sharing — less than many incomes are — Made me put a question private, (you can guess what I would drive at.) " You must work the sum to prove it," clanked the careless tonga-bar. "Simple Rule of Two will prove it" lilted back the tonga-bar. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 6i ^* *'\"ruthty- '''^''''"' ' mused:-"Suppose the maid be "^''"Avatar'r'" "'''~'"'^ ^°''^' *"" '""^ *'=''''>/ "Answer, monitor untiring, 'twixt the ponies twain per- spirmg! r"-' "F-/«/ >i.«r/ «„.r «,<,«/«,> W^;- creaked the straining tonga-bar. ^ "Can I^eUyou treyou ask Hir?" pounded slow the tonga- ^*''' burnTr* ^^^' ""'"'"^ "'"'"'^'^ '''^ ''S*"' "''Simla Lit my little lazy yearning to a fiercer flame by far. tingled-^ *' j'"^'"'' '''™"Sh my very heart it Did the iterated order of the threshing tonga-bar:- Tryyour luck~you can't do better!" twanged the loosened tonga- bar. CHRISTMAS IN INDIA DIM dawn behind the tamarisks-the sky is saffron- yellow — ' As the women in the village grind the corn, Th'at'thrn " ""t" "'^"-"-'ide. each calling to his fellow That the Day, the staring Eastern Day, is born. th* bVa"? °" *''" '''ehway! O the stenches in O the clammy fog that hovers over earth ' And at Home they're making merry 'neath the white and scarlet berry — Wh at part have India's exiles in their mirth? 62 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Full day behind the tamarisks — the sky is blue and staring — As the cattle crawl afield beneath the yoke, And they bear One o'er the field-path, who is past all hope or caring, To the ghat below the curling wreaths of smoke. Call on Rama, going slowly, as ye bear a brother lowly — Call on Rama — he may hear, perhaps, your voice! With our hymn-books and our psalters we appeal to other altars, And to-day we bid "good Christian men rejoice!" High noon behind the tamarisks — the sun is hot above us — As at Home the Christmas Day is breaking wan. They will drink our healths at dinner — those who tell us how they love us. And forget us till another year be gone! O the toil that knows no breaking! O the heimvieh, ceaseless, aching! O the black dividing Sea and alien Plain! Youth was cheap— Wherefore we sold it. Gold was good — we hoped to hold it. And to-day we know the fulness of our gain ! Grey dusk behind the tamarisks— the parrots fly together— As the Sun is sinking slowly over Home; And his last ray seems to mock us shackled in a lifelong tether That drags us back howe'er so far we roam. Hard her service, poor her payment— she in ancient, tattered raiment — India, she the grim Stepmother of our kind. If a year of life be lent her.if her temple's shrine we enter, The door is shut — we mav not look behind. W'^wm^ INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 63 Black night behind the tamarisks— the owls becin their chorus — ...f^l ''1^ conches from the temple scream and bray. V\ith the fruitless years behind us and the hopeless years before us, ' Let us honour, O my brothers, Christmas Day! Call a truce, then, to our labours— let us feast with friends and neighbours, And be merry as the custom of our caste- For, if "faint and forced the laughter," and if sadness follow after. We are richer by one mocking Christmas past. THE GRAVE OF THE HUNDRED HEAD 'P HERE'S a widow in sleepy Chester Ifho weeps for her only son; There's a ^rave on the Pabeng River, A grave that the Burmans shun. And there's Subadar Prag Tewarri Who I,'' s how the work was done. A Snider squibbed in the jungle — Somebody laughed and fled. And the men of the First Shikaris Picked up their Subaltern dead, With a big blue mark in his forehead And the back blown out c/f his head. Subad^r Prag Tewarri, Jemadar Hira J.al, Took commarjd of the party, Twenty rifles in all. Marched them down ro the river As the dav was beginning to fall. RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE They buried the boy by the river, A blanket over his face — They wept for their dead Lieutenant, The men of an alien race — They made a samadA' in his honour, A mark for his resting-place. For they swore by the Holy Water, They swore by the sait they ate. That the soul of Lieutenant Eshmitt Sahib Should go to his God in state; With fifty file of Burman To open him Heaven's Gate. The men of the First Shikaris Marched till the break of day, Till they came to the rebel village, The village of Pabengmay — A jinga/' covered the clearing, Calthrops hampered the way. Subadar Prag Tewarri, Bidding them load with ball. Halted a dozen rifles Under the village wall; Sent out a flanking-party With Jemadar Hira Lai. Thf; men of the First Shikaris Shouted and smote and slew. Turning the grinningy/Hjj-n/ On to the htnvling crew. The Jemadar's flanking-party Butchered the folk who flew. '."imsmonal. 'Nalivt vannr«. ^m. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 Long was the morn of slaughter, Long was the list of slain, Five score heads were taken. Five score heads and twain; And the men of the First Shikaris Went back to their grave again. Each man bearing a basket Red as his palms that day, Red as the blazing village — The village of Pabengmay. And the " drip-drip-drip" from the baskets Reddened the grass by the way. They made a pile of their trophies High as a tall man's chin, Head upon head ilistorted, Set in a sightless grin, Anger and pain and terror Stamped on the smoke-scorched skin. 65 Subadar Prag Tewarri Put the head of the Boh On the top of the mound of triumph, The head of his son below With the sword and the peacock-banner That the world might behold and know. Thus the samadh Wiis perfect, ■J'hus was the lesson plain Of the wrath of the First Shikaris— The price of a white man slain; And the men of the First Shikaris Went back into camp again. 66 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Then a silence came to the river, A hush fell over the shore, And the Bohs that were brave departed, And Sniders squibbed no more; lor the Burmans said That a white-man's head Must be paid for with h; ads live-score. There's a widow in sleepy Chester IVho weeps for her only son; There's a grave on the Pabeng River, A grave that the Burmans shun. And there's Siibadar Prag Tewarri U'ho tells how the work isas done. AN OLD SONG §0 LONG as 'neath the Kalka hills The tonga-horn shall ring. So long as down the Solon dip The hard-held ponies swing. So long as Tara Devi sees The lights of Simla town. So long as Pleasure calls us up, Or Duty drives us down. If you love me as I love you IV hat pair so happy as we two ? So long as Aces take the King, Or backers take the bet. So long as debt leads men to wed. Or marriage leads to def)r, 1^^^^!^;.' INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 So long as little luncheons, Love, And scandal hold their vogue, While there is sport at Annanda'le Or whisky at Jutogh, If you love me as I love you What knife can cut our lose in two ? 67 So long as down the rocking floor The raving polka spins, So long as Kitchen Lancers spur The maddened violins. So long as through the whirling smoke We hear the oft-told tale— "Twelve hundred in the Lotteries," And IVhatshername for sale? If you love me as I love you tfellplay the %ame and win it too. So long as Lust or Lucre tempt Straight riders from the course, So long as with each drink we pour Black brewage of Remorse, So long as those unloaded guns We keep beside the bed. Blow off, by obvious accident. The lucky owner's head. If you love me as I love you H^hat can Life kill or Death undo ? So long as Death >wixt dance and dance Chills best and bravest blood, And drops the reckless rider doim The n.-tten, rain-soaked knud 68 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE So long u nimours from the North Make lov ng wives afraid, So long as Burma takes the boy Or typhoid kills the m.iid, If you love me as I love you ff/iat knife can cut our love in tteo ? By all that lights our daily 'ifc Or works our lifelong \v..c. From Boileaugunge to '■;• ila Downs And those grim glaa ; below, Where, heedless of the tiying hoof And clamour overhead. Sleep, with the grey langur for guard Our very scornful Dead, If you love me as I love you All Earth is servant to us two ! By Docket, Billetdoux, and File, By Mountain, Cliff, and Fir, By Fan and Swordand Office-box, By Corset, Plume, and Spur By Riot, Revel, Waltz, and War, By Women, Work, and Bills, By all the life that fizzes in The everlasting Hills, If you love me as I love you IVhat pair so happy as we two ? CERTAIN MAXIMS OF HAFIZ TF IT be pleasant to look on, stalled in the packed serai. Does not the Young Man try Its temper and pace ere he buy? INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 69 If She be pleasant to look on, what does the Young Man say' Lo! She IS pleasant to look on. Give Her to me to-day!" Yea, though a Kafir die, to him is remitted Jehannum If he borrowed in life from a native at sixty per cent, per annum. '^ Blister we not for iursali< ' So when the heart is vext The pam of one maiden's refusal is drowned in the pain of the next. The temper of chums, the love of your wife, and a new pi- ano's tune — '^ Which of the three will you trust at the end of an Indian June? Who are the rulers of Ind— to whom shall we bow the knee? Make your peace with the women, and men will make you L. G.'^ Does the woodpecker flit round the youn^ ferash ? Does the grass clothe a new-built wall ? Is she under thirty, the woman who holds a boy in her thrall? VII If She grow suddenly gracious— reflect. Is it all for thee ' The blackbuck is stalked through the bullock, and Man through jealousy. 'A skin disease of horses. 'Lieutenant-Governor. 7° RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Seek not for favour of women. So shall you find it indeed. Does not the boar break cover just when you're lighting a weed ? If He play, being young and unskilful, for shekels of silver and gold, Take His money, my son, praising Allah. The kid was or- dained to be sold. With a "weed" among men or horses verily this is the best. That you work him in office or dog-cart lightly— but give him no rest. Pleasant the snaffle of Courtship, improving the manners and carriage; But the colt who is wise will abstain from the terrible thorn- bit of Marriage. As the thriftless gold of the iaiul^ so is the gold that we spread On a Derby Sweep, or our neighbour's wife, or the horse that we buy from a friend. The ways of man with a maid be strange, yet simple and tame To the ways of a man with a horse, when selling or racing that same. * Acacia. INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 71 XIV In public Her face turneth to thee, and pleasant Her smile when ve meet. It is ill. The cokl r<,.ks of El-Gidar smile thus on the wave, at their feet. In public Her face is averted, with anger She nameth thy name. ^ It is "'^'^^ Was there ever a loser content with the loss of the Shll'R" T'Tu" Tf'*'. «'"^'"b" thy lips are sealed. And the Brand of the Dog „ upon him by whom is the secret revealed. If She hve written a letter, delay not an instant but burn it. Tear it in pieces. O Fool, and the wind to her mate shall re- turn It! If there be trouble to Herward, and a lie of the blackest can clear, Lie. while thy lips can move or a man is alive to hear. XVI My Son, if a maiden deny thee and scufflingly bid thee eive o er. ' = Yet lip meets with lip at the lastward. Get out! She has been there before. They are pecked on the ear and the chin and the nose who are lacking in lore. XVH If we fall in the race, though we win, the hoof-slide is scarred on the course. Though .Allah and Earth pardon Sin, remaineth for ever Kemorse. MICROCOPY RESOLUTUN TEST CHART (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No, 2| m m m ^ APPLIED \MAGB In 71 RUDYARD KIPLING S VERSE "By all I am misunderstood!" if the Matron shall say, or the Maid: — "Alas! I do not understand," my son, be thou nowise afraid. In vain in the sight of the Bird is the net of the Fowler dis- played. XIX My son, if I, Hafii, thy father, take hold of thy knees in my pain. Demanding thy name on stamped paper, one day or one hour — refrain. Are the links of thy fetters so light that thou cravest another man's chain? THE MOON OF OTHER DAYS TJENEATH the deep verandah's shade, When bats begin to fly, I sit me down and watch — alas! Another evening die. Blood-red behind the sere/crajA' She rises through the haze. Sainted Diana! can that be The Moon of Other Days! Ah! shade of little Kitty Smith, Sweet Saint of Kensington! Say, was it ever thus at Home The Moon of .August shone. When arm in arm we wandered long Through Putney's evening haze. And Hammersmith was Heaven beneath The Moon of Other Days? 'Tamarisk. INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 But W'anille's stream is Sutlej now, And Putney's evening haze The dust that half a hundred kine Before my window raisi-. I'likempt, unclean, athwart the mist The seething city looms. In place of Putney's golden gorse The .sickly babul blooms. Glare liown, old Hecate, through the dust, And bid the pie-dog yell. Draw from the drain its typhoid-germ, From each bazaar its smell; Yea, suck the fever from the tank And sap my strength therewith: Thank Heaven, you show a smiling face To little Kitty Smith! 7,! THE FALL OF JOCK GILLESPIE 'pHIS tell when dinner-time was done — 'Twixt the first an' the second rub — That oor mon Jock cam' hame again To his rooms ahint the Club. An syne he laughed, an' syne he sang. An" syne we thocht him fou, An' syne he trumped his partner's trick, An' garred his partner rue. Then up and spake an elder mon. That held the Spade its Ace — God save the lad! Whence comes the ] "That wimples on his face!'" cht 74 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE An' Jock he sniggered, an' Jock he smiled, An' ower the card-brim wunk: — "I'm a' too fresh fra' the stirrup-peg, "May lie that I am drunk." "There's whusky brewed in Galashiels "An' I,. L. 1.. forbye; "But never liquor lit the lowe "That keeks fra' oot your eye. "There's a thrid o' hair on your dress-coat breast, ".Aboon the heart a wee?" "Oh! that is fra' the lang-haired Skye "That slobbers ower me." "Oh! lang-haired Skyes are lovin' beasts, "An' terrier dogs are fair, "But never yet was terrier born, "Wi' ell-lang gowden hair! "There's a smirch o' pouther on your breast, "Below the left lappel?" "Oh! that is fra' my auld cigar, "Whenas the stump-end fell." "Mon Jock, ye smoke the Trichi coarse, "For ye are short o' cash, "An' best Havanas couldna leave "Sae white an' pure an ash. 'This nicht ye stopped a story braid, "An' stopped it wi' a curse. "Last nicht ye told that tale yoursel'^ "An' capped it wi' a worse! INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 "Oh! wc'ro no foul Oh! we're no foul "But plainly we can ken "Yc're tallin', tallin' fra the band "O' cantie single men!" An' it tell when ,(;>m-shaws were sere, An' the nichts were iang and mirk. In braw new breeks, wi' a ijowiien rinLj, Oor Jockie iiaed to the Kirk! WHAT THF. PEOPLE SAID ^ueen I'ii/oria's 'Jubilee. Jr\t ;isr, 18)^7 PY THE well, where the bullocks go Silent and blind and slow- By the field, where the young corn dies In the face of the sultry skies. They have heard, as the dull Earth hears The voice of the wind of an hour. The sound of the Great Qi" s voice: — "My God hath given me vi -iS, "Hath granted dominion and power: "And I bid you, O Land, rejoice." And the Ploughman settles the share More deep in the grudging clod; For he saith:— "The wheat is my care, "And the rest is the will of God. "He sent the Mahratta spear "As He sendeth the rain, "And the M/ce/i,' in the fated year, "Broke the spear in twain, ' The foreiener. 76 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE "And was broken in turn. Who knows "How our Lords make strife? "It is good that the young wheat grows, "For the bread is Life." Then, far and near, as the twilight drew. Hissed up to the scornful dark (ircat serpents, blazing, of red and blue. That rose and faded, and rose anew. That the Land might wonder and mark. "To-dav is a dav of dav.s," thev said, "Mahe merry, 6 People, all'" .And the Ploughman listened and bowed his head: "To-day and to-morrow God's will," he said, ■As he trimmed the lamps on the wall. "He sendeth us years that are good, "As He sendtth the dearth. " He giveth to each man his food, "Or Her food to the Earth. "Our Kings and our (jueens are afar- "On their peoples be peace — "God bringeth the rain to the Bar, "That our cattle increase." -■\nd the Ploughman settled the share More deep in the sun-dried clod: — "Mogul, Mahratta, and M/ech from the North, ".And White (Jueen over the Seas — "God raiseth them up and driveth them forth "As the dust of the ploughshare flies in the breeze; " But the wheat and the cattle are all my care, "And the rest is the will of God." INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 77 THE UNDERTAKERS HORSE "To-tsrhin-shu is cnndcmned to death. How can he drink tea with the Exccutioi ;r?" — Jtipimese Proverb. "TTHE eldest son bestrides him, And the prett.- daughter rides him, And I meet him oft o' ••ncirn^ngs on the Course; And there kindles in my bosom An emotion chill and gruesome As I canter past the Undertaker's Horse. Neither shies he nor is restive, But a hideously suggestive Trot, professional and placid, he affects; And the cadence of his hoof-beats To my mind this grim reproof beats: — " Mend your pace, my friend, I'm coming. Who's the nt xt ? ' Ah! stud-bred of ill-omen, I have watched the strongest go — men Of pith and might and muscle — at your heels, Down the plantain-bordered highway, (Heaven send it ne'er be my way!) In a lacquered box and jetty upon wheels. Answer, sombre beast and dreary, Where is Brown, the young, the cheery, Smith, the pride of all his friends and half the Force? You were at that last dread dak^ We must cover at a walk, Bring them back to me, O Undertaker's Horse! 'Stage of a journey. 78 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE With your mane unhogyed ami flowing, And your curious way of going, And that businesslike black crimping of your tail, E'en with Beauty on your back, Sir, Pacing as a lady's hack, Sir, What vonder when I meet you I turn pale? It may be you wait your time, Beast, Till 1 write my last bad rhyme. Beast — yuit the sunlight, cut the rhyming, drop the glass- Follow after with the others, Where some dusky heathen smothers I's with marigolds in lieu of English grass. Or, perchance, in years to follow, I shall watch your plump sides hollow. See Carnifex (gone lame) become a corse — Se.; old age at last o'erpower you, A. id the Station Pack devour you, I sh-' chuckle then, O Undertaker's Horse! But to insult, jibe, and quest, I've Still the hideously juggesti\e Trot that hammers out the unrelenting text, And I hear it hard behind me In wnat place soe'er I find me: — " 'Sure to catch you sooner or later. Who's the next?' ONE VICEROY RESIGNS Lord Dufferin to Lord Lavsdowne: — CO HERE'S your Empire. No more wine, then ? We'll clear the Aides and khitmutgars away. (You'll know that fat old fellow with the knife- He keeps the Name Book, talks in English, too Good- INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 And almost thinks himsclt the (iovtrnment.) 0 Vouth, Youth, Youth! Forgivi; mc, you'tt- so vnung. Forty from sixty twenty vcars of work And power to hack the working, ./v dc mi . You want to know, you want to see, to touch And, by your lights, to act. It'.s natural. 1 wonder can I help you? Let me try. You saw — what did you see from Bombay cast? Knough to frighten any one but me? Neat that! It frightened Me in Kighty-Kour! You shouliin't take a man from Canada And bid him smoke in powder-magazines; Nor with a Reputation such as — Bah! That ghost h.is haunted me for twenty years, My Reputation now full-blown. Your fault! Yours, with your stories of the strife at Home, Who's up, who's down, who leads and who is led— One reads so much, one hears so little here. Well, now's your turn of exile. I go back To Rome and leisure. .All roads lead to Rome. Or books — the refuge of the destitute. When you . . . that brings me back to India. See! Start clear. 1 couldn't. Egypt served my turn. You'll never plumb the Oriental mind, And if you did, it isn't worth the toil. Think of a sleek French priest in Canada; Divide by twenty half-breeds. Multiplv By twice the Sphinx's silence. There's your East, And you're as wise as ever. So am I. Accept on trust and work in darkness, strike -At venture, stumble forward, make your mark, (It's chalk on granite) then thank God no flame Leaps from the rock to shrivel mark and man. I'm clear— my mark is made. Three months of drouth Had ruined much. It rained and washed away The specks that might have gathered on my Name. I took a country twice the size of France, 79 So RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE And shuttcrtil up .m's ransom. When a big ship drives God knows to what new r.-i'f, the man at ,hc wheel Prays with the passcnirer . They lose their lives. Or rescued iro tluir way; hut he's no man fo take his ti, : : the wheel again. That's worse Than ilrownint;. Well, a galled .Mashobra mule (Vou'll see Mashobra) pa.sstd me on the .Mall, And I was- some tool's wife had ducked and lx>wed I'o show the others I would stop anil speak. Then the mule fell- three galls, a hand-breailth each. Behind the withers. Mrs. Whatsisname Leers at the mule and me by turns, thweet thoull "How could they make him carry such a load!" I saw— it isn't often I dream dreams - More than the mule that minute— smoke and flame Krom Simla to the h.ize below. That's weak. You're younger. 'You'll dream dreams before you've done. \ou've youth, that's one; good workmen— that means two I'air chances in your favour. Kate's the third. I know what / did. Uo you ask me, "Preach!'" ( answer by my past or else go back To platitudes of rule or take you thus In confidence and say: "You know the trick: "You've governed Can.ida. You know. You know!" And all the while commcnil you to Kate's hanil (Here at the top one loses sight o' God), Commend you, then, to something more than you — The Other People's blunders and . . . that's all. I'd agonise to serve you if 1 could. It's incommunicable, hke the cast That drops the hackle with the gut adry. Too much— too little- there's your salmon lost! .And so I tell you noth.ng- wish you luck, And wonder — how I wonder! — for your sake! And triumph for my own. You're young, you're young. "^1 RUDVARD KIPLING'S VERSE You holil to half a hiinilreil ShililK)ltths. I'm old. I followcil Power to tlit last, Gave her my best, and Power followeil Me. It's worth it— on my soul I'm speakirij; plain, Here by the claret glassesl— worth it all. I gave— no matter what I gave— I win. I know 1 win. Mine's work, gii lie awake Ami «iiiu|er. Oh, yiHi'll womier ere M)ii'- tree! I wdMiier niiw. The tour years ,li,le awav So last. Ml last, anil leave nie here alipiie. k- V, C-K-n, I, 1, R-li.rts, H-ek, the rest, Prinees and Powers ot' Darkness, tr |.s arul (I cainiol sleep in trains!, lanii pileu -n lanil. Whitewash and weariness, re,i njekcts, dust. White snows that moeked rric, palaecs— with draughts, And W-stl-nd with the <',-Tfts he eouldn't pav. Poor VV-ls-n reading his joituary Before he died, and H-pe, the man with bones, And A-tch s-n a dripping mackintosh At Council in the Rains, his grating "Sirrr" Half drowned by H-nt-r's silky; "Bat my lahd." Hunterian always: M-rsh-1 spinning y tes Or standing on his head; the Rent B ro.ir, A hundred thousand speeches, much red cloth, And Smiths thrice happy if I call them Jones, (I can't rcmcm-rr half their names) or reined My pony on the Mall to greet their wives. More trains, more troops, more dust, and then all's do- Four years, and I forget. If I forget. How will l/iey bear me in their minds.' The North Safeguarded — nearly (R-b-rts knows the rest), A country twice the size of Krance annexed. That stays at least. The rest may pass— may pass — Your heritage — and 1 can teach vou naught. "High trust," "vast honour," "interests twice as vast," "Due reverence to your Council" — keep to those. I envy you the twenty years you've gained. But not the five to follow. What's thatr One! Two! — Surely not so late. Good-night. Don't dream. »i RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE THE GALLEY-SLAVE ryii GALLANT was our galley from her carven steering- wheel To her figurehead of silver and her beak of hammered steel; The leg-bar chafed the ankle and we gasped for cooler air. But no galky on the waters with our galley could compare! Our bulkheads bulged with cotton and our masts were stepped in gold— We ran a mighty merchandise of niggers in the hold; The white foam spun behind us, and the black shark swam below. As we gripped the kickitig sweep-head and we made the galley go. It was merry in the galley, for we revelled now and then — If they wore us do vn like cattle, faith, we fought and loved Hke men! As we snatched her through the water, so we snatched a minute's bliss, And the mutter of the dying never spoiled the lover's kiss. Our women and our children toiled beside us in the dark— They died, we filed their fetters, and we heaved them to the shark — We heaved them to the fishes, but so fast the galley sped We had only time to envy, for we could not mourn our dead. Bear witness, once my comrades, what a hard-bit gang were we — The servants of the sweep-head, but the masters of the sea! By the hands that drove her forward as she plunged and yawed and sheered, Woman, Man, or God or Devil, was there anything we feared ? INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 85 Was it storm? Our fathers faced it and a wilder never blew; Earth that waited for the wreckage watched the galley struggle through. Burning noon or choking midnight, Sickness, Sorrow, Part- ing, Death? Nay, our very babes would mock you had they time for idle breath. But to-day I leave the galley and another takes my place; There's my name upon the deck-beam— let it stand a little' space. I am free— to watch my messmates beating out to open main. Free of all that Life can offer — save to handle sweep again. By the brand upon my shoulder, by the gall of clinging steel, By the welt the whips have left me, by the scars that never heal; By eyes grown old with staring through the sunwash on the brine, I am paid in full for service. Would that service still were mine! Yet they talk of times and seasons and of woe the years bring forth. Of our galley swamped and shattered in the rollers of the North. When the niggers break the hatches and the decks are gay with gore. And a craven-hearted pilot crams her crashing on the shore. She will need no half-mast signal, minute-gun, or rocket- flare. When the cry for help goes seaward, she will find her servants there. 86 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Battered chain-gangs of the orlop, grizzled drafts of years gone bv, , To the bench that broke their manhood, they shall lash them- selves and die. Hale and crippled, young and aged, paid, deserted, shipped away — , ■ j Palace, cot, and lazaretto shall make up the tale that day. When the skies are black above them, and the decks ablaze beneath. And the top-men clear the raffle with their clasp-knives m their teeth. It may be that Fate will give me life and leave to row once more — , , Set some strong man free for fighting as I take awhile his oar. . L = But to-day I leave the galley. Shall I curse her service then? God be thanked! Whate'er comes after, I have lived and toiled with Men! W^ A TALE OF TWO CITIES THERE the sober-coloured cultivator smiles On his iyks; Where the cholera, the cyclone, and the crow Come and go; Where the merchant deals in indigo and tea, Hides and ghi; Where the Babu drops inflammatory hints In his prints; Stands a City— Charnock chose it— packed away Near a Bay — By the sewage rendered fetid, by the sewer Made impure, INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 By the Sunderbunds unwholesome, by the swamp Moist and damp; And the City and the Viceroy, as we see. Don't agree. 87 Once, two hundred years ago, the trader came Nleek and tame. Where his timid foot first halted, there he staved. Till mere trade Grew to Empire, and he sent his armies forth South and North, Till the country from Peshawar to Ceylon Was his own. Thus the midday halt of Charnock — morc's the pitv Grew a City. As the fungus sprouts chaotic from its bed, So it spread — Chance-directed, chance-erected, laid and built On the silt — Palace, byre, hovel — poverty and pride — Side by side; And, above the packed and pestilential tow n, Death looked down. But the Rulers in that City by the Sea Turned to flee — Fled, with each returning Spring-tide from its ills To the Hills. From the clammy fogs of morning, from the blaze Of the days, From the sickness of the noontide, from the heat, Beat retreat; For the country from Peshawar to Ceylon Was their own. But the Merchant risked the perils of the Plain For his gain. 88 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Now the resting-place of Charnock, 'neath the palms, Asks an alms, And the burden of its lamentation is. Briefly, this: — " Because, for certain months, we boil and stew, " So should you. ♦'Cast the Viceroy and his Council, to perspire "In our fire!" And for answer to the argument, in vain We explain That an amateur Saint Lawrence cannot cry: — "////must fry!" That the Merchant risks the perils of the Plain For his gain. Nor can Rulers rule a house that men grow rich in. From its kitchen. Let the Babu drop inflammatory hints In his prints; And mature — consistent soul — his plan for stealing To Darjeeling: Let the Merchant seek, who makes his silver pile, England's isle; Let the City Charnock pitched on — evil day! — Go Her way. Though the argosies of Asia at Her doors Heap their stores, Though her enterprise and energy secure Income sure. Though "out-station orders punctually obeyed" Swell Her trade — Still, for rule, administration, and the rest, Simla's best! INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 IN SPRINGTIME 89 ^Y GARDEN blazes brightly with the rose-bush and the peach, And the k'dU' sings above it, in the jiris by the well, From the creeper-covered trellis comes the squirrel's chatter- ing speech, And the blue jay screams and flutters where the cheery iat-bhai- dwell. But the rose has lost its fragrance, and the koil's note is strange; I am sick of endless sunshine, sick of blossom-burdened bough. Give me back the leafless woodlands where the winds of Springtime range — Give me back one day in England, for it's Spring in Eng- land now! Through the pines the gusts are booming, o'er the brown fields blowing chill. From the furrow of the ploughshare streams the fragrance of the loam. And the hawk nests on the cliflFside and the jackdaw in the hill. And my heart is back in England 'mid the sights and sounds of Home. But the garland of the sacrifice this wealth of rose and peach is. Ah! k'dil, iittle koil, singing on the siris bough. In my ears the knell of exile your ceaseless bell like speech is — Can you tell me aught of England or of Spring in England now? 'The Indian bell-bird. Mmiian str.rlin-'^. 90 RUDYARD KIPLING S VERSE GIFFEN'S DEBT TMPRIMIS he was "broke." Thereafter left His Regiment and, later, took to drink; Then, having lost the balance of his friends, "Went Fantee" — joined the people of the land, Turned three parts Mussulman and one Hindu, And lived among the Gauri villagers. Who gave him shelter and a wife or twain. And boasted that a thorough, full-blood sahib Had come among them. Thus he spent his time. Deeply indebted to the village shrojf^ (Who never asked for payment), always drunk, Unclean, abominable, out-at-heels; Forgetting that he was an Englishman. You know they dammed the Gauri with a dam. And all the good contractors scamped their work And all the bad material at hand Was used to dam the Gauri — which was cheap. And, therefore, proper. Then the Gauri burst. And several hundred thousand cubic tons Of water dropped into the \a\\tv,flop. And drowned some five-and-tw.ity villagers. And did a lakh or two of detriment To crops and cattle. When the flood went down We found him dead, beneath an old dead horse, Full six miles, d wn the valley. So we said He was a victim to the Demon Drink, And moralised upon him for a week. And then forgot him. Which was natural. But, in the valley of the Gauri, men Beneath the shadow of the big new dam. Relate a foolish legend of the flood, 'Money-lender. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 91 Accounting for the little loss of life (Only those five-aml-twentv villagers) In this wise:— On the evening of the Hood, They heard the groaning of the rotten dam. And voices of the Mountain Devils. Then An incarnation of the local (Jud, Mounted upon a nionster-neighinu; horse, And flourishing a flail-like whip, came down, Breathing ambrosia, to the villages, And fell upon the simple villagers With yells beyond the power of mortal throat, And blows beyond the power of mortal hand. And smote them with his flail-like whip, and drove Them clamorous with terror up the hill. And scattered, with the monster-neighing steed. Their crazy cottages about their ears, And generally cleared those villages. Then came the water, and the local God, Breathing ambrosia, flourishing his whip, And mounted on his monster-neighing steed. Went down the valley with the flying trees And residue of homesteads, while they watched Safe on the mountain-side these wondrous things, And knew that they were much brioved of Heaven. Wherefore, and when the dam was newly built, They raised a temple to the local God, And burnt all manner of unsavoury things Upon his altar, and created priests. And blew into a conch and banged a bell, And told the story of the Gauri flood With circumstance and much embroidery. . . . So he, the whiskified Objectionable, Unclean, abominable, out-at-heels. Became the tutelary Deity Of all the Gauri valley villages. And may in time become a Solar Myth. 9* RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE TWO MONTHS June "MO HOPE, no change! The clouds have shut us in. And through the cloud the sullen Sun strikes down Full on the bosom of the tortured Town, Till Night falls heavy as remembered sin That will not suffer sleep or thought of ease. And, hour on hour, the dry-eyed Moon in spite Glares through the haze and mocks with watery light The torment of the uncomplaining trees. Far off, the Thunder bellows her despair To echoing Earth, thrice parched. The lightnings fly In vain. No help the heaped-up clouds afford. But wearier weight of burdened, burning air. What truce with Dawn? Look, from the aching sky, Day stalks, a tyrant with a flaming sworj! September AT DAWN there was a murmur in the trees, A ripple on the tank, and in the air Presage of coming coolness — everywhere A voice of prophecy upon the breeze. Up leapt the Sun and smote the dust to gold. And strove to parch anew the heedless land, All impotently, as a King grown old Wars for the Empire crumbling 'neath his hand. One after one the lotos- petals fell. Beneath the onslaught of the rebel year. In mutiny against a furious sky; And far-off Winter whispered: — "It is well! "Hot Summer dies. Behold your help is near, "For when men's need is sorest, then come I." INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 L'ENVOI {Departmental Dittiet) ■*PHE smoke upon your Altar dies. The flowers decay, The Goddess of your sacrifice Has flown away. What profit then to sing or slay The sacrifice from day to day? 95 'We know the Shrine is void," they said, "The Goddess flown — '' Yet wreaths are on the altar laid — "The Altar-Stone "Is black with fumes of sacrifice, "Albeit She has fled our eyes. "For, it may be, if still we sing "And tend the Shrine, "Some Deity on wandering wing "May there incline; "And, finding all in order meet, "Stay while we worship at Her feet." THE FIRES (Prelude to Collected Verse) A^£A'' make them fires on the hearth Each under his roof-tree. And the Four Winds that rule the earth They blow the smoke to me. 94 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Across lite high hills and the sea .■fiid all the cluingeful skies. The Four IVinds blow the smoke to me Till the tears are in my eyes. Until the tears are in my eyes And my heart is viellnigh broke For thinking on old memories Thai gather in the smoke. If^ilh every shift oj every uiind The homesick memories come. From every quarter of mankind Where I have made me a home. Four times afire against the cold And a roof against the rain — Sorrow fourfold and joy fourfold The Four /Finds bring again I How can I answer which is best Of all the fires that burn ? I have been too often host or guest At every fire in turn. How can I turn from any fire. On any man's hearthstone ? I know the wonder and desire That went to build my own ! How can I doubt man's joy or woe Where'er his house-fires shine. Since all that man must undergo Will visit me at mine ? INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1833-1918 95 Oh, you Four ll^iiiiis that blovi so strong A>id know that this is Inn;, Stoop/fjr a little it)ui I'arry my song To all the nun I kiifij ! IVhere there are fires a;;ainst the coll. Or roofs a;^(tin!t 'lie rain -- With lo-je J otirj old and jo\- fowfoll. Take them my son^s a^^ain! DEDICATION FROM "nARRACK ROOM 15ALLADS" gEVOND the path of the outmost r.un through utter darkness hurled — Farther than ever comet flareil or vayrant star-dust swirled — Live such as fought and .ailed and ruled and l.vecl and made our world. They are purged of pride because they died, they know the worth of their bays; They sit at wine with the Maidens Nine and the Gods of the Ekler Days — It is their will to serve or be still as fntcth Our Father's praise. 'Tis theirs to sweep through the ringing deep where A/rael's outposts are, Or bufFet a path through the Pit's red wrath when God goes out to war, Or hang with the reckless Seraphim on the rein of a red- maned star. 96 RUDYARD KIPLING S VERSE They take their mirth in the jf)y of the Karth —they dare not grieve for her pain. They know of toil anil the end of toil; they know God's Law is plain; So they whistle the Devil to make them sport who know that Sin is vain. And oft-times cometh our wise Lord God, master of every trade, .And tells them tales of His daily toil, of Edens newly made; And they rise to their feet as He passes by, gentlemen un- afraid. To these who are cleansed of base Desire, Sorrow and Lust and Shame — Gods for they knew the hearts of men, men for they stooped to Fame — Borne on the breath that men call Death, my brother's spirit came. He scarce had need to doff his pride or slough the dross of Earth — E'en as he trod that day to God so walked he from his birth. In simpleness and gentleness and honour and clean mirth. So cup to lip in fellowship they gave him welcome high And made him place at the banquet board — the Strong Men ranged thereby, Who had done his work and held his peace and had no fear to die. Beyond the loom of the la'it lone star, through open darkness hurled. Further than rebel comet dared or hiving star-swarm swirled. Sits he with those that praise our God for that they served His world. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1835-li,18 97 TO THE TRUE ROMANCE 'T'irY face is far from this our war, Our call and counter-cry, I shall not find Thee quick and kind. Nor know Thee till I die. Enough for me in dreams to see And touch Thy garments' hem: Thy feet have trod so near to God I may not follow them ! Through wantonness if men profess They weary of Thy parts, E'en let them die at blasphemy And perish with their arts; But we that love, but we that prove Thine excellence auj^st, While we adore, discover more Thee perfect, wise, and just. Since spoken word Man's Spirit s 'rred Beyond his belly-need, What in is Thine of fair design In Thought and Craft and Deed. Each stroke aright of toil and fight, That was and that shall be, And hope too high wherefore we dio. Has birth and worth in Thee. Who holds by Thee hath Heaven in fee To gild his dross thereby. And knowledge sure that he endure A child until he die — 98 RUD-^ARD KIPLING'S VERSE For to make plain that man's disdain Is but new Beauty's birth — For to possess in singleness The joy of all the earth. As Thou didst teach all lovers speech And Life all mystery, So shalt Thou rule by every school Till life and longing die, Who wast or yet the Lights were set, A whisper in the Void, Who shalt be sung through planets young When this is clean destroyed. Beyond the bounds our staring rounds, Across the pressing dark, The children wise of outer skies Look hitherward and mark A light that shifts, a glare that drifts, Rekindling thus and thus, Not all forlorn, for Thou hast borne Strange tales to them of us. Time hath no tide but must abide The servant of Thy will; Tide hath no time, for to Thy rhyme The ranging stars stand still— Regent of spheres that lock our fears Our hopes invisible. Oh 't was certes at Thy decrees We fashioned Heaven and Hell; Pure Wisdom hath no certain path That lacks thy morning-eyne, And Captains bold by Thee controlled Most like to Gods design. FidT INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 Thou art the \'oice to kingly boys To lift them through the fight, And Comfortre.-.s of Unsuccess, To give the Dead good-night. A veil to draw 'twixt God His Law And Man's infirmity, A shadow kind to dumb and blind The shambles where we die; A rule to trick th' arithmetic, Too base, of leaguing odds — ■ The spur of trust, the curb of lust, Thou handmaid of the Gods! O Charity, all patiently Abiding wrack and scaith! 0 Faith, that meets ten thousand cheats Yet drops no jot of faith! Devil and brute Thou dost transmute To higher, lordlier show, Who art in sooth that lovely Truth The careless angels know! Thy face is far from this our war. Our call and counter-cry, 1 may not find Thee quick and kind. Nor know Thee till I die. Yet may I look with heart unshook On blow brought home or missed — Yet may I hear with equal ear The clarions down the L ist; Yet set my lance above mischance And ride the barriere — Oh, hit or miss, how little V is. My Lady is not there ! 99 ••!i r 100 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE SESTINA OF THE TRAMP-ROYAL 1896 CPEAKIN' in general, I 'ave tried 'em all — The 'appy roads that take you o'er the world. Speakin' in general, I 'ave found them good For such as cannot use one bed too long. But must g°t 'ence, the saiis as I 'ave done, An' go observin' matters till they die. What do it matter where or 'ow we die, So long as we've our 'ealth to watch it all — The different ways that different things are done, An' men an' women lovin' in this world; Takin' our chances as they come along, An' when they ain't, pretendin' they are good? In cash or credit — no, it aren't no good; You 'ave to 'ave the 'abit or you'd die. Unless you lived your life but one day long. Nor didn't prophesy nor fret at all. But drew your tucker some'ow from the world. An' never bothered what you might ha' done. But, Gawd, what things are they I 'aven't done! I've turned rny 'and to most, an' turned it good. In various situations round the world — For 'im that doth not work must surely die; But that's no reason man should labour all 'Is life on one same shift — life's none so long. Therefore, from job to job I've moved along. Pay couldn't 'old me when my time was done, For something in my 'ead upset it all. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 Till I 'ad dropped whatever 't was for good, An', out at sea, be'eld the dock-lights die, An' met my mate — the wind that tramps the world! It's like a book, I think, this bloomin' world. Which you can reaci and care for just so long. But presently you leel that you will die Unless you get the page you're readin' done, An' turn another — likely not so good; Bill- what you're after is to turn 'em all. Gawd bless this world! Whatever she 'ath done — Excep' when awful long — I've found it good. So write, before I die, "'E liked it all!" THE MIRACLES I 894 ¥ SENT a message to my dear — A thousand leagues and more to Her- The dumb sea-levels thrilled to hear, And Lost Atlantis bore to Her! Behind my message hard I came, And nigh had found a grave for me; But that I launched of steel and flame Did war against the wave for me. Uprose the deep, in gale on gale. To bid me change my mind again — He broke his teeth along my rail, And, roaring, swung behind again. w loa RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE I stayed the sun at noon to tell My way across the waste of it; I read the storm before it fell And made the better haste of it. Afar, I hailed the land at night — The towers I built had heard of me — And, ere my rocket reached its height, Had flashed my Love the word of me. Earth sold her chosen men of strength (They lived and strove and died for me; To drive my road a nation's length, -And toss the miles aside for me. I snatched their toil to serve my needs- Too slow their fleetest flew for me. I tired twenty smoking steeds. And bade them bait a new for me. I sent the Lightnings forth to see Where hour by hour She waited me. Among ten million one was She, ."^nd surely all men hated me! Dawn ran to meet me at my goal — Ah, day no tongue shall tell again! And little folk of little soul Rose up to buy and sell a^ain! INCLUSIVE EDITION, 188S-1918 103 SONG OF THE WISE CHILDREN 1902 "VXT^HEN the darkened Fifties dip to the North, And frost and the fog divide the air, And the day is dead at his breaking-forth, Sirs, it is bitter beneath the Bear! Far to Southward they wheel and glance, The million molten spears of morn— The spears of our de'iverance That shine on the house where we were born. Flying-fish about our bows, Flying sea-'";res in our wake: This is the road to our Father's House, Whither we go for our souls' sake! We have forfeited our birthright. We have forsaken all things meet; We have forgotten the look of light. We have forgotten the scent of heat. They that walk with shaded brows. Year by year in a shining land. They be men of our Father's House, They shall receive us and understand. We shall go back by the boltless doors. To the life unaltered our childhood knew — To the naked feet on the cool, dark floors, And the high-ceiled rooms that the Trade blows through: t04 RUDYARD KIPLIN' 'S VERSE To the trumpet-flowers and the moon beyond, And the tree-toad's chorus drowning all — And the lisp of the split banana-frond That talked us to sleep when we were small. The way'ide magic, the threshold spells, Shall suon undo what the North has done — Because of the sights and the sounds and the smells That ran with our youth in the eye of the sun. And Earth accepting shall ask no vows. Nor the Sea our love, nor our lover the Sky. When we return to our Father's House Only the English shall wonder why! ZION I 9 I 4 - I 8 "TTHE Doorkeepers of Zion, They do not always stand In helmet and whole armour. With halberds in their hand; But, being sure of Zion, And all her mysteries. They rest awhile in Zion, Sit down and smile in Zion; Ay, even jest in Zion; In Zion, at their ease. The Gatekeepers of Baal, They dare not sit or lean. But fume and fret and posture And foam and curse between; INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 For being bound to Baal, Whose sacrifice is vain, Their rest is scant with Baal, They glare and pant for Baal, They mouth and rant for Baal, For Baal in their pain ! But we will go to Zion, By choice and not through dread. With these our present comrades And those our present dead; And, being free of Zion In both her fellowships. Sit down and sup in Zion — Stand up and drink in Zion Whatever cup in Zion Is offered to our lips ! •OS BUDDHA AT KAMAKURA 1892 "Andlhere is a Japanese idol at Kamakura" C\ YF, who tread the Narrow Way By Tophet-flare to Judgment Day, Be gentle when "the heathen" pray To Buddha at Kamakura! To him the Way, the Law, apart, Whom Maya held beneath her heart, Ananda's Lord, the Bodhisat, The Buddha of Kamakura. Io6 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE For though he neither burns nor sees, Nor hears ve thank vour Deities, Ye have not sinned with such as these. His children at Kamakura, Yet spare us still the Western joke When joss-sticks turn to scentc i smoke The little sins of little folk That worship at Kamakura — The grey-robed, gay-sashed butterflies That flit beneath the Master's eyes. He is beyond the Mysteries But loves them at Kamakura. And whoso will, from Pride released, Contemning neither creed nor priest, May feel the Soul of all the East About him at Kamakura. Yea, every tale Ananda heard. Of birth as fish or beast or bird, While yet in lives the Master stirred, The warm wind brings Kamakura. Till drowsy eyelids seem to see A-flower 'neath her golden htee The Shwe-Dagon flare easterly From Burmah to Kamakura, And down the loaded .lir there comes The thunder of Thibetan drums. And droned — "Om mane padme hums^' A world's-width from Kamakura. 'The Buddhist invocation. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 Yet Brahmans rule Benares still, Buddh-Gaya's ruins pit the hill. And beef-fed zealots threaten ill To Buddha and Kamakura. A tourist-show, a legend told, A rusting bulk of bronze and gold. So much, and scarce so much, ye hold The meaning of Kamakura? But when the morning prayer is prayed, Think, ere ye pass to strife and trade, Is God in human image made No nearer than Kamakura? 107 THE GREEK NATIONAL ANTHEM "^E KNEW thee of old, Oh divinely restored. By the light of thine eyes And the light of thy Sword. From the graves of our slain Shall thy valour prevail As we greet thee again — Hail, Liberty! Hail! Long time didst thou dwell Mid the peoples that mourn, Awaiting some voice That should bid thee return. 108 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Ah, slow broke that day And no man dared call, For the shadow of tyranny Lay over all: And we saw thee sad-eyed. The tears on thy cheeks While thy raiment was dyed In the blood of the Greeks. Yet, behold now thy sons With impetuous breath Go forth to the fight Seeking Freedom or Death. From the graves of our slain Shall thy valour prevail As we greet thee again Hail, Liberty! Hail! THE SE.A-WIFE 1893 '^HERE dwells a wife by the Northern Gate, And a wealthy wife is she; She breeds a breed o' rovin' men And casts them over sea. And some are drowned in deep water. And some in sight o' shore. And word goes back to the weary wife And ever she sends more. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 18S5-1918 For since that wife hail gate or gear, Or hearth or garth or (icid. She willed her sons to the white harvest, And that is a bitter yield. She Wilis her sons to the wet ploughing, To ride the horse of tree; And syne her sons come back again Far-spent from out the sea. The good wife's sons come home again With little into their hands, But the lore of men that have dealt with men In the new and naked lands; But the faith of men that have brothercd men By more than easy breath, And the eyes o' men that have read with men In the open books of Death. Rich are they, rich in wonders seen, But poor in the goods o' men; So what they have got by the skin of their teeth They sell for their teeth again. And whether they lose to the naked life Or win to their hearts' desire, They tell it all to the weary wife That nods beside the fire. log Her hearth is wide to every wind That makes the white ash spin; And tide and tide and 'tween the tides Her sons go out and in; no RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE (Out with great mirth that ilo ilcsire lla/.ani of tracklgss ways — • In with conti-nt ti) wait tlK-ir watch An J warm bct'orc the blaze); Ami some return by failing light. Anil some in waking ilreani, I'nr she hears the heels of the ilripping ghosts That ride the rough roof-beam. Home, they come home from all the ports, The living and the dead; The good wife's sons come home again I'or her blessing on their head! THE HROKKX MEN 1902 pOR things we never mention. For Art misunderstood — For excellent intention That did not turn to good; From ancient tales' renewing, From clouds we would not clear- Beyond the Law's pursuing We fled, and settled here. We took no tearful leaving. We bade no long good-byes; Men talked of crime and thieving, Men wrote of fraud and lies. To save our injured feelings 'T was time and time to go — Behind was dock and Dartmoor, Ahead lay Callao! INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 The widow ami the orphan That pray for ten per cent. They clapped their trailers on us To spy the road we went. They watched the foreign sailings (They scan the shipping still), Anil that's your Christian people Returning good for ill! God bless the thoughtful islands Where never warrants come; God bless the just Republics That give a man a home, That ask no foolish questions, But set him on his feet; And save his wife and daughters From the workhouse and the street! On church and square and market The noonday silence falls; You'll hear the drowsy mutter Of the fountain in our halls. Asleep amid the yuccas The city takes her ease — Till twilight brings the land-wind To the clicking jalousies. Day long the diamond weather, "The high, unaltered blue — The smell of goats and incense And the mule-bells tinkling through. Day long the warder ocean That keeps us from our kin, And once a month our levee When the English mail comes in. RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE You'll find us up and waiting To treat you at the bar; You'll find us less exclusive Than the average English are. We'll meet you with a carriage, Too glad to show you round, But — we do not lunch on steamers, For they are English ground. We sail o' nights to England And join our smiling Boards — Our wives go in with Viscounts And our daughters dance with Lords, But behind our princely doings, And behind each coup we make. We feel there's Something Waiting, And — we meet It when we wake. Ah God! One sniflF of England — To greet our flesh and blood — To hear the traffic slurring Once more through London mud! Our towns of wasted honour — Our streets of lost delight I How stands the old Lord Warden ? Are Dover's cliffs still white? GETHSEMANE I 9 I 4- I 8 THE Garden called Gethsemane In Picardy it was. And there the people came to see The English soldiers pass. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 We used to pass— we used to pass Or halt, -(s it might be, And sh i ;■..'■ ruaiks in case of gas Bey ind Gethstni:.;' :. The G..1 i ;n called G ^thsemane, It held a prcU)- 'ass, But all the time she talked to me I prayed my cup might pass. The officer sat on the chair, The men lay on the grass. And all the time we halted there I prayed my tup might pass. It didn't pass— it didn't pass — It didn't pass from me. I drank it when we met the gas Beyond Gethsemane. "3 THE SONG OF THE BANJO 1894 YOU couldn't pack a Broadwood half a mile— You mustn't kave a fiddle in the damp— You couldn't raft an organ up the Nile, And play it in an Equatorial swamp. ^ / travel with the cooking-pots and pails I'm sandwiched 'tween the coffee and the pork— And when the dusty column checks and tails, You should hear me spur the rearguard to a walk! With my " Pilly-willy-winky-winky-popp .'" [Oh, it's any tune that comes into my head!] So I keep 'em moving forward till they drop; So I play 'em up to water and to bed. 114 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE In tliL- silence of the camp before the fight, \\ hen it's good to make your will and say your prayer, You can hear my strunipty-litmpty overnight, Kxplaining ten to one was always fair. I'm the Prophet of the I'ttcrly Absurd, Of the l';:tently Impossible ami Vain— And when the Thing that Couldn't has occurred, Give me time to change my leg and go again. With my " Titmpa-tumpa-tmnpa-tumpa-tump /" In the desert where the dung-fed camp-smoke curled. There was never voice before us till I led our lonely chorus, I_the war-drum of the White Man round the world! By the bitter road the Younger Son must tread. Ere he win to hearth and saddle of his own, — 'Mid the riot of the shearers at the shed. In the silence of the herder's hut alone — In the twilight, on a bucket upside down. Hear me babble what the weakest won't confess— 1 am Memory and Torment— I am Town! I am all that ever went with evening dress! With my " Tiiiika-tunka-tunka-tunka-tunk !" [So the lights— the London Lights— grow near and plain!] So I rowel 'em afresh towards the Devil and the Flesh, Till I bring my broken rankers home again. In desire of many marvels over sea, Where the new-raised tropic city sweats and roars, I have sailed with Young Ulysses from the quay Till the anchor rumbled down on stranger shores. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 188S-1918 115 He is lilcHxlfd to the open and the sky, He is taken in a snare that shall not fail, He shall hear me singing stronglv, till he die, Like the shouting of a hacks'tav in a gale. ' With nn- '-Hya! Hceya ! H,;va ! Mullah! Hanir |Oh the green that thunders aft along the deck!) Arc you sick o' towns and men ? You must sign and sail again, For it's "Johnny Bowlegs, pack your kit and trek!" Through the gorge that gives the stars at noon-day clear— Up the pass that packs the scud beneath our wheel- Round the biufr that sinks her thousand fathom sheer- Down the valley with our guttering brakes asqueal: \\ here the trestle groans and quivers in the snow, Where the many-shedded levels loop and twine. Hear me lead my reckless children from below Till we sing the Song of Roland to the pine! With my " Tinka-tinka-tinka-tinka-tink !" [Oh the axe has cleared the mountain, croup and crest! And we ride the iron stallions down to drink. Through the canons to the waters of the West! And the tunes that mean so much to you alone — Common tunes that make you choke and blow your nose, \ ulgar tunes that bring the laugh that brings the groan— ' I can rip your very heartstrings out with those; With the feasting, and the folly, and the fun— And the lying, and the lusting, and the drink, And the merry play that drops you, when vou're done, To the thoughts that burn like irons if you think. ii6 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE With my " Ptunka-lunka-lunka-lunka-lunk .'" Here's a trifle on account of pleasure past. Ere the wit that made you win gives you eyes to see your sin And — the heavier repentance at the last! Let the organ moan her sorrow to the roof — I have told the naked stars the Grief of Man! Let the trumpet snare the foeman to the proof — I have known Defeat, and mocked it as we ran! My bray ye may not alter nor mistake VVhen I stand to jeer the fatted Soul of Things, But the Song of Lost Endeavour that I make. Is it hidden in the twanging of the strings? With my '* Ta-ra-rara-rara-ra-ra-rrrp /" [Is it naught to you that hear and pass me by?) But the word — the word is mine, when the order moves the line And the lean, locked ranks go roaring down to die! The grandam of my grandam was the Lyre — [O the blue below the little fisher-huts!] That the Stealer stooping beach'vard filled with fire, Till she bore my iron head and ringing guts! By the wisdom of the centuries I speak — To the tune of yestermorn I set the truth — I, the joy of life unquestioned — I, the Gr^ek — I, the everlasting Wonder-song of Youth! With my '^Tinka-tinka-iinka-tifika-iifik !" [What d' ye lack, niv noble masters? What d've lack?] So I draw the world together link by link: Yea, from Delos up to Limerick and back! INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 ,,7 THE SPIES' MARCH I 913 ' "^'"n!;'M"'' '" '," ^"1' '"'"^ ""^ "" death-ratt would sicken \.«,l.o„ !J>. ■ . . VilIag:!V.nickl„gbYdlv™'"™r/;j"^'°^''-'''',- mg soul. , . . But at anv r„. .t ' ' V '" ="""= pla«s not a liv- u^cful. so , a. keep-:; "/nY,^l^i ;„'uT™rtet'"ctTac"r '" ;>^™ ^.-^ir^i^ -:r -^ ^^ --^ :^^" ?^« ""'"^ bu^r/wS;" "" '"^ '"'"="'°-- -" >- -''"-' From the ends of the earth to the ends of the earth, to follow the Standard of Yellow! FaU in ! 0/all in ! Ofall in 1 Not where the squadrons mass, Not where the bayonets shine Not where the big shell shout as thev pass Over the firing-line; ' Not where the wounded are, Not where the nations die'. Killed in the cleanly game of war- That is no place for a spy' ° Htt'n?;ra« fra^p^r^' ''- --' '' '"^ ^'- -- Trained to another use, We march with colours furled Only concerned when Death breaks loose Un a front of half a world. ii8 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Only for General Death The Yellow Klag may fly, While we take post beneath — That is the place for a spy. Where Plague has spread his pinions over Nations and Dominions — Then will be work for a spy ! The dropping shots begin, The single funerals pass, Our skirmishers run in, The corpses dot the grass! The howling towns stampede, The tainted hamlets die. Now it is war indeed — Now there is room for a spy! O Peoples, Kings and Lands, we are waiting your com- mands— What is the work for a spy ? (Drums) — Fear is upon us, spy! \\\ "Go where his pickets hide — Unmask the shape they take, Whether a gnat from the waterside, Or a stinging fly in the brake. Or filth of the crowded street. Or a sick rat limping by. Or a smear of spittle dried in the heat — That is the work of a spy! (Drums) — Death is upon us, spy ! "What does he next prepare? Whence will he move to attack? — By water, earth or air? — How can we head him back? INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 Shall we starve him out if we burn Or bury his food-supply? S''P through his lines and learn- That is work for a spy! 'Drums)— Gf/ lo'yow business, spy ! "Does he feint or strike in force? Will he charge or aniimscadc? What is it checks his course? Is he beaten or onlv delayed? How long will the lull endure? Is he retreating? Why? Crawl to his camp and niake sure— That is the work for a spy! (Drums)— f ,/(■/, »j- our answer, spy ! "Ride with him girth to girth Wherever the Pale Hor'se wheels nait on his councils, ear to earth, And say what the dust reveals.' For the smoke of our torment rolls 'iVhere the burning thousands lie- What do we care for men's bodies or souls' Urmg us deliverance, spy!" 119 THE EXPLORER 1898 ^HERE'S no sense in going further-it's the edge of cultivation, = ^ 'mycro'*' ""'' ' '''''""' ''"''"'''' '">' '•■'"'' ='"'1 ^°^^d Built my barns and strung my fences in the little border I20 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Till a voice, as bad as Conscience, rang interminable changes On one everlasting Whisper day and night repeated — so: "Something hidden. Go and find it. Go and look behind the Ranges — "Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you. Go!" So I went, worn out of patience; never told my nearest neighbours — Stole away with pack and ponies — left 'em drinking in the town; And the faith that moveth mountains didn't seem to help my labours As I faced the sheer main-ranges, whipping up and leading down. March by march I puzzled through 'em, turning flanks and dodging shoulders. Hurried on in hope of water, headed back for lack of grass; Till I camped above the tree-line — drifted snow and naked boulders — Felt free air astir to windward — knew I'd stumbled on the Pass. 'Thought to name it for the finder: but that night the Norther found me — Froze and killed the plains-bred ponies; so I called the camp Despair ^It's the Railway Gap to-day, though). Then my Whisper waked to hound me: — "Something lost behind the Ranges. Over yonder! Go you theri INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 ,2, Then I knew, the while I doubted-knew His Hand was certain o er me. ^""di'ed-*'" ^ self-delusion-scores of better men had I could reach the township living, but . . . He knows what terror tore me . . . But I didn't ... L. It I didn't. I went down the other side, Till the snow ran out in flowers, and the flowers turned to aloes, ^"''rl'lf b'°" '^"^"^ *° '^'"^^'^ ^""^ " brimming stream But the thickets dwined to thorn-scrub, and the water dramed to shallows, And dropped again on desert-blasted earth, and blasting I remember lighting fires; I remember sitting by 'em- I il^Zh V'""^ ^^T' ^'"i"^ ™'"^' '^'""Sh the'smol:e; I remember they were fancy-for I threw a stone to try 'em Somethmg ost behmd the Ranges" was the only word they spoke. ' I '■emember going craz; I remember that I knew it When heard myself hallooing to the funny folk I saw. "hmu hh"" ''"'"' ''"' ""^ '""^ ''^' '"""^ ""^ And loused to watch 'em moving with the toes all black and ^"' "''di^uta-""^' "''"^''-^VWte Man's country past Rollin, There I i Got 1 timber I water d me food and water, and I lay a week recruiting my strength and lost my nightmares. Then I entered on my find. RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE i Thence I ran my first rough survey — chose my trees and blazed and ringed 'em — Week by week I pried and sampled — week by week my findings grew. Saul he went to look for donkeys, and by God he found a kingdom! But by God, who sent His Whisper, I had struck the worth of two! Up along the hostile mountains, where the hair-poised snow- slide shivers — Down and through the big fat marshes that the virgin ore-bed stains, Till I heard the mile-wide mutterings of unimagined rivers, And beyond the nameless timber saw illimitable plains! 'Plotted sites of future cities, traced the easy grades between 'cm; Watched unhu:->.;ssed rapids wasting fifty thousand head an hour; Counted leagues of water-frontage through the axe-ripe woods that screen 'em — Saw the plant to feed a people— up and waiting for the power ! Well I know who'll take the credit— all the clever chaps that followed — Came, a dozen men together^never knew my desert-fears; Tracked me by the camps I'd quitted, used the water-holes I'd hol'owed. They'll go back and do the talking. They'll be called the Pioneers ! They will find my sites of townships — not the cities that I set there. They will rediscover rivers — not my rivers heard at night. By my own old marks and bearings they will show me how to get there, By the lonely cairns I builded they will guide my feet aright. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 ,j, Have I^named one single river? Have I eluimed one smglc Have Uept „nc sinfjle nugf:ct-(l,arring samples;? Vo, Becai,se n,y price was paij n>e tc, times „v.r l,v „„■ M,kcr But y„u wouldn't understand u. V„u g., .p" ,„j /J;;,;;; ^" • an]'s!!;!;dj'""' """^' ""' "'"'- -"--^--it -re God took^eare to hide that country till He judged His people ^''it";i:! "" ^" "" ''■''"'""• "^ ''^'- '"""^ "> -J ^"' Ta'tion ""■"''''' ™""'^y "->•-». your "edge of cul- '^"'\'o"ee'"'"' '" ^°'"^ f""h""-till I crossed the range ^"'^ ^ZE""' ^■°' ' '''"'^- '" ^"^'^ 1-"^"^ to our '*"*to Me'"'^'*'' '''''''■■ '"""'' ■' ''"'~"'' ^^''^''^P'''' "">« THE PRO-CONSULS y ^£ over/aM/u! sword relwiis the u the sea we fear—not man's award. RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE They that dig foundations deep, F''it for realms to rise upon, Little honour do they reap Of their generation. Any more than mountains gain Stature till we reach the plain. With no veil before their face Such as shroud or sceptre lend — Daily in the market-place. Of one hfight to foe and friend — They must cheapen self to find Knds unchcapencd for mankind. Through the night when hirelings rest, Sleepless they arise, alorc. The unsleeping arch to test And the o'er-trusted corner-stone, 'Gainst the need, they know, that lies Hid behind the centuries. Not by lust of praise or show Not by Peace herself betrayed- Pcace herself must they forego Till that peace be fitly made; And in single strength uphold Wearier hands and hearts acold. On the stage their act hath framed For thy sports, O Liberty! Doubted are they, and defamed By the tongues their act set free. While they quicken, tend and raise Power that must their power displace. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 Lesser men feign greater goals, Failing whereofthcy may sit Scholarly to judge the souls That go down into the pit, And, despite its certain clay, Heave a new world towards the day. '*S These at labour make no sign. More than planets, tides or years Which discover God's design, ^ Not our hopes and not our fears; Nor in aught they gain or lose Seek a triumph or excuse. For, so Ihe Ark he borne to Zion, who Heeds how they perished or were paid that bore it ? For, so the Shrine abide, what shame—what pride If we, Ihe priests, were bound or crowned before it > THE SEA AND THE HILLS 1902 \yHO hath desired the Sea .'—the sight of salt water unbounded — The heave and the halt and the hurl and the crash of the comber wind-hounded? The sleek-barrelled swell before storm, grey, foamless, enor- mous, and growing — Stark calm on the lap of the Line or the crazy-eyed hurricane blowmg — 126 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE His Sea in no showing the same — his Sea and the same 'neath each showing; His Sea as she slaclcens or thrills? So and no otherwise — so and no otherwise — hillmen desire their Hills! Who hath desired the Sea? — the immense and contemptuous surges? The shudder, the stumble, the swerve, as the star-stabbing bowsprit emerges? The orderly clouds of the Trades, the ridged, roaring sap- phire thereunder — Unheralded clitF-haunting flaws and the headsail's low-vol- leying thunder — His Sea in no wonder the same — his Sea and the same through each wonder: His Sea as she rages or stills? So and no otherwise — so and no otherwise — hillmen desire their Hills. Who hath desired the Sea? Her menaces swift as her mercies? The in-rolling walls of the fog and the silver-winged breeze that disperses? The unstable mined berg going South and the calvings and groans that declare it — White water half-guessed overside and the moon breaking timely to bare it; His Sea as his fathers have dared — his Sea as his children shall dare it: His Sea as she serves him or kills? So and no otherwise — so and no otherwise — hillmen desire their Hills. Who hath desired the Sea? Her excellent loneliness rather Than forecourts of kings, and her outermost pits than the streets where men gather INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 127 Inland, among dust, under trees— inland where the slaver may slay him — Inland, out of reach of her arms, and the bosom whereon he must lay him — His Sea from the first that betrayed— at the last that shall never betray him: His Sea that his being fulfils? So and no otherwise— so and no otherwise— hillmen desire their Hills. ■i li ANCHOR SONG fJEHl Walk her round. Heave, ah, heave her short again ! Over, snatch her over, there, and hold her on the pawl. Loose all sail, and brace your yards back and full- Ready jib to pay her off and heave short all! Well, ah, fare you well; we can stay no more with you, mv love — Down, set down your liquor and your girl from off your knee; For the wind has come to say: "You must take me while you may, If you'd go to Mother Carey (Walk her down to Mother Carey!), Oh, we're bound to Mother Carey where she feeds her chicks at sea!" Heh! Walk her round. Break, ah break it out o' that! Break our starboard-bower out, apeak, awash, and clear! Port— port she casts, with the harbour-mud beneath her foot. And that's the last o' bottom we shall see this year! 128 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Well, ah, fare vou well, for we've got to take her out again — Take her out in ballast, riding light and cargo-free. And it's time to clear and quit When the hawser grips the bitt, So we'll pay you with the foresheet and a promise from the sea ! Heh! Tally on. Aft and walk away with her! Handsome to the cathead, now; O tally on the fall! Stop, seize and fish, and easy on the davit-guy. Up, well up the fluke of her, and inboard haul! Well, ah, fare you well, for the Channel wind's took hold of us, Choking down our voices as we snatch the gaskets free. And it's blowing up for night. And she's dropping light on light. And she's snorting as she's snatching for a breath of open sea! Wheel, full and by; but she'll smell her road alone to-night. Sick she is and harbour-sick — oh, sick to clear the land! Roll down to Brest with the old Red Ensign over us — Carry on and thrash her out with all she'll stand! Well, ah, fare you well, and it's Ushant slams the door on us. Whirling like a windmill through the dirty scud to lee. Till the last, last flicker goes From the tumbling water-rows. And we're off to Mother Carey (Walk her down to Mother Carey!), Oh, we're bound for Mother Carey where she feeds her chicks at sea! INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 n^ RHYME OF THE THREE SEALERS 1893 j^WAYby the lands of the Japanee Where the paper lanterns glow And the crews 0/ all the shipping drink In the house of Blood Street Joe, At twilight, when the landward breeze Brings up the harbour noise. And ebb of Yokohama Bay Swigs chattering through the buoys. In Cisco's Dewdrop Dining Rooms They tell the tale anew Of a hidden sea and a hidden fight, fVhen the Baltic ran from the Northern Light And the StraIsund/o«^A/ the two. Now this is the Law of the Muscovite, that he proves with shot and steel, When you come by his isles in the Smoky Sea you must not take the seal. Where the grey sea goes nakedly between the weed-hune shelves, ° And the little blue fox he is bred for his skin and the seal they breed for themselves. ^°' '"^tlanf^ """'""' '^^"^ '''^ '"'"'■^ '° '^"P ^'^"' P"P' The great man-seal haul out of the sea, aroarine, band bv band. ' And when the first September gales have slaked their rutting- wrath, =■ The great man-seal haul back to the sea and no man knows their path. ' She-seals. r- 130 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Then dark they lie and stark they lie — rookery, dune, and floe. And the Northern Lights come down o' nights to dance with the houseless snow; And God Who clears the grounding berg and steers the grinding floe. He hears the cry of the little kit-fox and the wind along the snow. But since our women must walk gay and money buys their gear, The sealing-boats they filch that way at hazard year by year. English they be and Japanee that hang on the Brown Bear's flank, And some be Scot, but the worst of the lot, and the boldest thieves, be Yank! It .r.s the sealer Northern Light, to the Smoky Seas she bore. Wii' a stovepipe stuck from a starboard port and the Rus- sian flag at her fore. {Baltic, Stralsund, and Northern Light — oh! they were birds of a feather — Slipping away to the Smoky Seas, three seal-thieves to- gether!) And at last she came to a sandy cove and the Baltic lay therein. But her men were up with the herding seal to drive and club and skin. There were fifteen hundred skins abeach, cool pelt and proper fur. When the Northern Light drove into the bight and the sea- mist drove with her. The Baltic called her men and weighed — she could not choose but run — For a stovepipe seen through the closing mist, it shows like a four-inch gun (.And loss it is that is sad as death to lose both trip and ship And lie for a rotting contraband on Vladivostok slip). INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 iji She turned and dived in the sea-smother as a rabbit dives in the whins, And the Northern Light sent up her boats to steal the stolen skins. They had not brought a load to side or slid their hatches clear, When they were aware of a sloop-of-war, ghost-white and very near. Her flag she showed, and her guns she showed— three of them, black, abeam. And a funnel white with the crusted salt, but never a show of steam. There was no time to man the brakes, thev knocked the shackle free, And the Northern Light stood out again, goose-winged to open sea. (For life it is that is worse than death, by force of Russian law To work in the mines of mercury that loose the teeth in your jaw.) They had not run a mile from shore— they heard no shots behind — When the skipper smote his hand on his thigh and threw her up in the wind: " Bluffed— raised out on a bluff," said he, "fur if my name's Tom Hall, "You must set a thief to catch a thief— and a thief has caught us all! ''By every butt in Oregon and every spar in Maine, "The hand that spilled the wind from her sail was the hand of Reuben Paine! "He has rigged and trigged her with paint and spar, and, faith, he has faked her well — "But I'd know the Strahmid's deckhouse yet from here to the booms o' Hell. I3> RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE I f "Oh, once we ha' met at Baltimore, and twice on Boston pier, "But the sickest day for you, Reuben Paine, was the day that you came here — "The day that you came here, my lad, to scare us from our seal "With your funnel made o' your painted cloth, and your guns o' rotten deal ! "Ring and blow for the Bailie now, and head her back to the bay, "And we'll come into the game again — with a double deck to play ! " They rang and blew the sealers' call — the poaching-cry of the sea — And they raised the Baltic out of the mist, and an angry ship was she. And blind they groped through the whirling white and blind to the bay again. Till they heard the creak of the Stralsund's boom and the clank of her mooring chain. They laid them down by bitt and boat, their pistols in their belts. And: "Will you fight for it, Reuben Paine, or will you share the pelts?" A dog-toothed laugh laughed Reuben Paine, and bared his flenching-knife. "Yea, skin for skin, and all that he hath a man will give for his life; But I've six thousand skins below, and Yeddo Port to see. And there's never a law of God or man runs north of Fifty- Three : So go in peace to the naked seas with empty holds to fill. And I'll be good j your seal this catch, as many as I shall kill!" INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 133 Answered the snap of a closing lock— the jar of a gun-butt slid, But the tender fog shut fold on fold to hide the wrong they did. The weeping fog rolled fold on fold the wrath of man to cloak, As the flame-spurts pale ran down the rail and the sealing- rifles spoke. The bullets bit on bend and butt, the splinter slivered free (Little they trust to sparrow-dust that stop the seal in his sea!), The thick smol.e hung and would not shift, leaden it lay and blue, But three were down on the Baltic's deck and two of the Siralsund's crew. An arm's length out and overside the banked fog held them bound, But, as t-hey heard or groan or word, they fired at the sound. For one cried out on the Name of God, and one to have him cease. And the questing volley found them both and bade them hold their peace. And one called out on a heathen joss and one on the Virgin's Name, And the schooling bullet leaped across and led them whence they came. And in the waiting silences the rudder whined beneath. And each man drew his watchful breath slow-taken 'tween the teeth — Trigger and ear and eye acock, knit brow and hard-drawn lips — Bracing his feet by chock and cleat for the rolling of the ships. Till they heard the cough of a wounded man that fought in the fog for breath, nil they heard the torment of Reuben Paine that wailed upon his death: 134 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE "The tides they'll go through Fundy Race, but I'll go never more "And see the hogs from ehb-tidc mark turn scampering back to shurc. "No more I'll see the trawlers drift below the Bass Rock ground, "Or watch the tall Fall steamer lights tear blazing up the Sound. "Sorrow is nic, in a 1 Miely sea and a sinful fight I fall, " But if there's law o God or man you'll swing for it yet, Tom Halll" Tom Hall stood up by the quarter-rail. "Your words in your teeth," said he. "There's never a law of God or man runs north of Fifty- Three. " So go in grace with Him to face, and an ill-spent life behind, "And I'll be good to your widows, Rube, as many as 1 shall find." A Siralsioid man shot blind and large, and a warlock Finn was he, le hit To over the knee. Tom Hall caught hold by the topping-lift, and sat him down with an oath, " You'll wait a little, Rube," he said, " the Devil has called for both. "The Devil is driving both this tide, and the killing-grounds are close, "And we'll go up to the Wrath of God as the holluschickie' goes. "O men, put back your guns again and lay your rifles by, " We've fought our fight, and the best ar; down. Let up and let us die! 'The young seal. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 '35 "Quit firing, by the bow there— quit! Call off the Baltic's crew! "You're sure of Hell as me or Rube— but wait till we get through." There went no word between the ships, but thick and quick and loud The life-blood drummed on the dripping decks, with the fog- dew from the shroud, The sea-pull drew them side by side, gunnel to gunnel laid. And they felt the sheer-strakes pound and clear, but never a word was said. Then Reuben Paine cried out again before his spirit passed: "Have I followed the sea for thirty years to die in the dark at last? "Curse on her work that has nipped me here with a shifty trick unkind — "I have gotten my death where I got my bread, but I dare not face it blind. "Curse on the fog! Is there never a wind of all the winds I knew "To clear the smother from off my chest, and let me look at the blue?" The good fog heard— like a splitten sail, to left and right she tore. And they saw tne sun-dogs in the haze and the seal upon the shore. Silver and grey ran spit and bay to meet the steel-backed tide, And pinched and white in the clearing light the crews stared overside. O rainbow-gay the red pools lay that swilled and spilled and spread. And gold, raw gold, the spent shell rolled between the care- less dead — The dead that rocked so drunkenwise to weather and to lee, And they saw the work their hands had done as God had bade them see! 136 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE And a little breeze blew over the rail that made the headsails lift. But no man stood by wheel or sheet, and they let the schoon- ers drift. And the rattle rose in Reuben's throat and he cast his soul with a cry, And "Gone already?" Tom Hall he said. "Then it's time for me to die." His eyes were heavy with great sleep and yearning for the land, And he spoke as a man that talks in dreams, his wound be- neath his hand. "Oh, there comes no good o' the westering wind that backs against the sun; "Wash down the decks — they're all too red — and share the skins and run, "Baltic, Stralsund, and Northern Light — clean share and share for all, "You'll find the fleets oflf Tolstoi Mees, but you will not find Tom Hall. "Evil he did in shoal-water and blacker sin on the deep, "But now he's sick of watch and trick and now he'll turn and sleep. "He'll have no more of the crawling sea that made him suffer so, "But he'll lie down on the killing-grounds where the hoUu- schickie go. "And west you'll sail and south again, beyond the sea-fog's rim, "And tell the Yoshiwara girls to burn a stick for him. "And you'll not weif''t him by the heels and dump him over- side, " But carry him up to the sand-hollows to die as Bering died, "And make a place for Reuben Paine thr.t knows the fight was fair, "And leave the two that did the wrong tc talk it over there!" INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 ,37 Hal/.utam ahead by gues, and lead, forth, sun is most/y veiUd- if I /'?*' ''"'" ''f' ""i'" "> g'^yow landfatt plain. North and by west, from Zapnc Crest you raise the Crosses Twain. P«ir marks are they to the inn,r bay, the reckless poacher knows, IVhal time the scarred see-catchie ' lead their sleek serarlios Ever they hear the floe-pack clear, and the blast of the old bull- whale. And the deep seal-roar that beats off-shore above the loudest rale tver they wait the winter's hate as the thundering boorea' calls mere northward look they to St. George, and westward to St' Paul s. Ever they greet the hunted fleet-lone keels off headlands drear- IV hen the seahng-schooners flit that way at hazard year by year tver m Yokohama port men tell the tale anew Of a hidden sea and a hidden fight, ffhen the Baltic ran from the Northern Light And the Strals:md/o«;A/ the two. M'ANDREVVS HYMN 1893 L,ORD, Thou hast made this world below the shadow of a dream, An', taught by lime, I taf it so-exceptin' always Steam Hrom coupler-flange to spindle-guide I see Thy Hand O God — ' Predestination in the stride o' von connectin'-roti John Calvin n.ight ha' forged the same— enorrmous, certain slow — ' Ay, wrought it in the furnace-flame— m^ "Institutio " I cannot get my sleep to-night; old bones arc hard to please- 1 11 stand the middle watch up here— alone wi' God an' these 'The male se:il, "Hurricane. 1J« RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE My engine!, aftor ninety ilays n' race an' rack an' strain Through all the seas of all Thy worUl, slam-liangin' home again. Slam-linng too niiich — they knock a wee — the crossheaii- gil)S are liKise, Hut thirtv thousand iiiile o' sea has gied them fair ex- cuse. . . . Fine, clear an' dark — a full-ilraught lireezc, wi' t'shant out o' siL'ht, An' Ferguson relievin' Hay. OUl girl, yell walk to-night! His wife's at Plymouth. . . . Seventy — One — Two — Three since he began — Three turns for Mistress Ferguson . . . and who's to blame the man? There's none at any port for me, by drivin' fast or slow. Since Elsie Campbell went to Thee, Lord, thirty years ago. (The year the Sarah Sands was burned. Oh roads we used to tread, Fra' Maryhill to Pollokshaws — fra' Govan to Parkhead!) Not but they're ceevil on the Board. Ve'U hear Sir Kenneth say: "G(x)d morrn, McAndrew! Back again? .\n' how's your bilge to-day?" Miscallin' technicalities but handin' me my chair To drink Madeira wi' three Earls- the auld F'leet Engineer That started as a boiler-whelp — when steam and he were low. / mind the time we used to serve a broken pipe wi' tow! Ten pound was all the pressure then — Eh! Eh! — a man wad drive ; \n' here, our workin' gauges give one hunder sixty-five! We're creepin' on wi' each new rig — less weight an' larger power: There'll be the loco-boiler next an' thirty miles an hour! Thirty an' more. What I ha' seen since ocean-steam began Leaves me na dcxjt for the machine: but what about the man? INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 The man that ccunts, wi' all his runs, one million mile o' sea : Four time the span from earth to moon. . . . How far, O f^nl, from Thee That wast beside him night an" day? Ye mimi my first typhoon? It scoug'hed the skipper on his w..y to jock wi" the sal(x)n. Three feet were on the stokehold floor— just slappin" to an' fro — An' cast me on a furnace-door. I have the marks to show. Marks! I ha' marks o' more than burns— deep in my soul an' black. An' times like this, when things go smooth, my wickud- ness comes back. The sins o' four an' forty years, all up an' down the seas. Clack an' repeat like valves half-fed. . . . Korgie 's our trespasses! Nights when I'd come on deck to mark, wi' envy in my gaze, The couples kittlin' in the dark between the funnel-stays; Years when I raked the Ports wi' pride to fill my cup o" wrong — Judge not, O Lord, my steps aside at Gay Street in Hong- Kong! Blot out the wastrel hours of mine in sin when I abode- Jane Harrigan's an' Number Nine, The Reddick an' Grant Road! An' waur than all— my crownin' sin— rank blasphemy an' wild. I was not four and twenty then— Ye wadna judge a child? I'd seen the Tropics first that run— new fruit, new smells, new air — How could I tell— blind-fou wi' sun— the Deil was lurkin' there ? By day like plavhouse-scenes the shore slid past our sleepy eyes; By night those soft, lascecvious stars leered from those velvet skies. I40 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE ? I In port (we used no cargo-steam) I'd daunder down the streets — An ijjit grinnin' in a dream — for shells an' parrakeets, An' walkin'-sticks o' carved bamboo an' blowfish stuffed an' dried — Fillin' my bunk wi' rubbishry the Chief put overside. Till, off Sambawa Head, Ye mind, I heard a land-breeze ca'. Milk-warm wi' breath o' spice an' bloom: " McAndrew, come awa'!" Firm, clear an' low — no haste, no hate — the ghostly whis- per went. Just statin' eevidential facts beyon' all argument: "Your mither's God's a graspin' deil, the shadow o' yoursel', "Got out o' books by meenisters clean daft on Heaven an' Hell. "They mak' him in the Broomielaw, o' Glasgie cold an' dirt, "A jealous, pridefu' fetich, lad, that's only strong to hurt, "Ye'll not go back to Him again an' kiss His red-hot rod, "But come wi' Us" (Now, who were They ?) "an' know the Leevin' God, "That does not kipper souls for sport or break a life in jest, "But swells the ripenin' cocoanuts an' ripes the woman's breast." An' there it stopped: cut off: no more; that quiet, certain voice — For me, six months o' twenty-four, to leave or take at choice. 'Twas on me like a thunderclap — it racked me through an' through — Temptation past the show o' speech, unnameable an' new — The Sin against the Holy Ghost? . . . An' under all, our screw. That storm blew by but left behind her anchor-shiftin" swell. Thou knowest all my heart an' mind. Thou knowest, Lord, I fell. Third on the Mary Gloster then, and first that night in Hell! YetwasThyHandbeneathmy head, about myfeetThyCare — INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 .4, Fra' Deli clear to Torres Strait, the trial o' despair, But when we touched the Barrier Reef Thv answer to my prayer! ... We dared na run that sea by night but lay an' held our fire, An' I was drowsin' on the hatch-sick— sick wi' doubt an' tire: "Better the sight of eyes that see than wanderin' 0' desire .'" Ye mind that word? Clear as our gongs— again, an' once again. When rippin' down through coral-trash ran out our moorin'- chain; An", by Thy Grace, I had the Light to see my duty plain. Light on the engine-room— no more— bright as our carbons burn. I've lost it since a t!; .usand times, but never past return! Obsairve. Per annum we'll ha^ : here two thous'and souls aboard — Think not I dare to justify myself before The Lord But— average fifteen hunder souls safe-borne fra' port to port — lamo service to my kind. Ye wadna blame the thought' Maybe they steam from Grace to Wrath— to sin bv folly led — ' ' It isna mine to judge their path— their lives are on my head. Mine at the last— when all is done it all comes back to me „,^,, ,,'•'*' '^*^** ^'^ thousand ton a log upon the sea. We II tak one stretch— three weeks an' odd by ony road ye steer— ' ' Fra' Cape Town east to Wellington— ye need an engineer. Fail there— ye ve time to weld your shaft— ay, eat it, ere ye're spoke; Or make Kerguelen under sail— three jiggers burned wi' smoke ! An' home again— the Rio run: it's no child's play to go Steamin' to bell for fourteen days 0' snow an' floe an' blow. 14* RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE The bergs like kelpies overside that girn an' turn an' shift Whaur, grindin' like the Mills o' God, goes by the big South drift. (Hail, Snow and Ice that praise the Lord. I've met them at their work, An' wished we had anither route or they anither kirk.) Yon's strain, hard strain, o' head an' hand, for though Thy Power brines All skill to naught, Ye'll understand a man must think o' things. Then, at the last, we'll get to port an' hoist their baggage clear — The passengers, wi' gloves an' ca.nes — an' this is what I'll hear: "Well, thank ye for a pleasant voyage. The tender's comin' now." While I go testin' follower-bolts an' watch the skipper bow. They've words for every one but me — shake hands wi' half the crew, Except the dour Scots engineer, the man they never knew. An' yet I like the wark for all we've dam' few pickin's here — No pension, an' the most we'll earn 's four hunder pound a year. Better myself abroad? Maybe. /'' '''i^' ^" ^iae Unank Ood, I can pay for my fancies') rlu hw where your mother died. By the Little Paternosters, as you come t, il. ■ I j |,„i |i ,nk We dropped her— I think 1 told you-and i pricked ii off where she sank. [Tiny she looked on the grating-that oily, treacly sea- ] Hundred and Eighteen East, remember, and South just Three. ' Easy bearings to carry-Three .South-Three to the dot; liut 1 gave Mc.'^ndrew a copy in case of dying -or not And so you'll write to McAndrew, he's Chief of the Maori Line; They'll give him leave, if you ask 'em and say it's business o' mme. I built three boats for the Maoris, an' very well pleased thev were. An' I've known Mac since the Fifties, and Mac knew me— and her. After the first stroke warned me I sent him the money to keep Against the time you'd claim it, committin' your dad to the deep; For you are the son o' my body, and Mac was my oldest friend, I've never asked 'im to dinner, but he'll see it out ;o the end. 154 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE !i StifT-neckeil Glasgow beggar! I've heard he's prayed for my soul, But he couldn't lie if you paid him, and he'd starve before he stole. He'll take the Mary in ballast- you'll find her a lively ship; And you'll take Sir Anthony Gloster, that goes on 'is wedding- trip, I.ashed in our old deck-cabin with all three port-holes wide. The kick o' the screw beneath him and the round blue seas outside! Sir Anthony Gloster's carriage — our 'ouse-flag flyin' free — Ten thousand men on the pay-roll and forty freighters at sea! He made himself and a million, but this world is a flectin' show, And he'll go to the wife of 'is bosom the same as he ought to go — By the heel of the Paternosters — there isn't a chance to mistake — And Mac'U pay you the money as soon as the bubbles break I Kive thousand for six weeks' cruising, the staunchest freighter afloat. And Mac he'll give you your bonus the minute I'm out o' ^he boat! He'll take you round to Macassar, and you'll come back alone ; He knows what I want o' the Mary. . . . I'll do what ( please with my own. Your mother 'ud call it wasteful, but I've seven-and-thirty more; I'll come in my private carriage and bid it wait at the door. ... For my son 'e was never a credit: 'c muddled with books and art, And 'e lived on Sir .Anthony's money and 'e broke Sir An- thony's heart. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 '55 The tieri; isn t even a grandchild, and the Gloster family's done — The only one you left me, O mother, the only one ! Harrer and Trinity College— me slavin' early an' late— An' he thinks I'm dying crazy, and you're in Macassar Strait! Flesh o' my flesh, my dearie, for ever an' ever amen. That first stroke come for a warning. I ought to ha' gone to you then. But— cheap repairs for a cheap 'un— the doctors said I'd do. Mary, why didn't _)o« warn me? I've alius heeded to you, Excep'-— I know — about women; but you are a spirit now; An', wife, they was only women, and I was a man. That's how. An' a man 'e must go with a woman, as you could not under- stand; But I never talked 'em secrets. I paid 'em out o' hand. Thank Gawd, I can pay for my fancies! Now what's five thousand to me. For a berth off the Paternosters in the haven where I would be? / believe in the Resurrection, if I read my Bible plain. But I wouldn't trust 'em at Wokin'; we're safer at sea again. For the heart it shall go with the treasure— go down to the sea in ships. I'm sick of the hired women. I'll kiss my girl on her lips! I'll be content with my fountain. I'll drink from mv own well. And the wife of my youth shall charm me— an' the rest can go to Hell ! (Dickie, he will, that's certain.) I'll lie in our standin'-bed. An' Mac'll take her in ballast— an' she trims best by the head. . . . Down by the head an' sinkin', her fires are drawn and cold. And the water's splashin' hollow on the skin of the emutv hold- ^ ^ ,S6 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Churning an' choking and chuckling, quiet and scummy and dark — . , u 1,1 Full to her lower hatches and rism steady. Hark. That was the after-bulkhead. ... She s flooded from stem to stern. ... •Never seen death yet, Dickie? . . . Well, now is your time to learn! THE BALL.'VD OF THE "BOLIVAR" 1890 QEVEN men from all the world back to Docks again, "^ Rolling down the Rutcliffe Road drunk and raising Cam. Give the girls another drink 'fore we sign away— Ife that took the " Bolivar" out across the Bay I We put out from Sunderland loaded down with rails; We put back to Sunderland 'cause our cargo shifted; We put out from Sunderland— met the winter gales- Seven days and seven nights to the Start we drifted. Racketing her rivets loose, smoke-stack white as snow. All the coals adrift adeck, half the rails below. Leaking like a lobster-pot, steering like a dray- Out we took the Bolioar, out across the Bay. One by one the Lights came up, winked and let us by; Mile by mile we waddled on, coal and fo c sle short; Met a blow that laid us down, heard a bulkhead fly; Left The Wolf behind us with a two-foot list to port. Trailing like a wounded duck, working out her soul; Clanging like a smithy-shop after every roll; Just a funnel and a mast lurching through the spray- So we threshed the Bolivar out across the Bay! .' ■." C AtSi t« ' "Uffil^BWf INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 157 Felt her hog and felt her sag, betted when she'd break; Wondered every time she raced if she'd stand the shock; Heard the seas like drunken men pounding at her strake; Hoped the Lord 'ud keep his thumb on the plummer- block! ^ Banged against the iron decks, bilges choked with coal; Flayed and frozen foot and hand, sick of heart and soul; 'Last we prayed she'd buck herself into Judgment Day- Hi! we cursed the Bolivar knocking round the Bay! O her nose flung up to sky, groaning to be still — Up and down and back we went, never time for breath; Then the money paid at Lloyd's caught her by the keel. And the stars ran round and round dancin' at our death! Acl.mg for an hour's sleep, dozing off between; 'Heard the rotten rivets draw when she took it green; ^V, tched the compass chase its tail like a cat at play— T..,it was on the Bolivar, south across the Bay! Once we saw between the squalls, lyin' head to swell- Mad with work and weariness, wishin' they was we — Some damned Liner's lights go by like a grand hotel; 'Cheered her from the Bolivar swampin' in the sea. Then a greyback cleared us out, then the skipper laughed; " Boys, the wheel has gone to Hell— rig the winches aft! " yoke fhe kicking rudder-head— get her under way!" So *e steered her, pully-haul, out across the Bay ' Just a pack o' rotten plates puttied up with tar. In we came, an' time enough, 'cross Bilbao Bar. Overloaded, undermanned, meant to founder, we Euchred God Almighty's storm, blufl^ed the Eternal Sea! 'ly'TK'iKvJil'.ir'J. 158 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Si-ji'ii mrn/rom all Ihc world hack lo town "gain, Knlliii down Ihc Ratcliffe Road drunk and raising Cain: Seven men Jriin out of Hell. Ain't the owners gay, 'Cause we took the "Bolivar" safe across the Bay ? THE BALLAD OF THE "CLAMPHERDOWN' 189; fT WAS our war-ship CJampherdown Would sweep the Channel clean, Wherefore she kept her hatches close When the merry Channel chops arose, To save the bleached Marine. She had one Ivm gun of a hundred ton, And a great stern-gun beside. They dipped their noses deep in the sea. They racked their stays and stanchions free In the wash of the wind-whipped tide. It was our war-ship Clampherdnwn Fell in with a cruiser light That carried the dainty Hotchkiss gun And a pair of heels wherewith to run Krom the grip of a close-fought fight. She opened fire at seven miles — As ye shoot at a bobbing cork — And once she fired and twice she fired, Till the bow-gun drocjieu liki. a lily tired That lolls upon the stalk. U'^'smsmm^^MBeiimBtvsssiSUeBa^iaB.ni&.'isii^. iJIV. IL { INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 'Captain, the bow-gun melts apace, "The deck-beams break below, " 'Twere well to rest for an hour or twain, "And botch the shattered plates again." And he answered, "Make it so." She opened fire within the mile— .As you shoot at the flying duck — And the great stern-gun shot fair and truL-, With the heave of the ship, to the stainless blue, .And the great stern-turret stuck. "Captain, the turret tills with steam, "'I'he feed-pipes burst below — " You can hear the hiss of the helpless ram, "You can hear the twisted runners jam." And he answered, "Turn and go!" '.19 It was our war-ship Claiiipherdnu:)!, .And grimly did she roll; .Swung round to take the cruiser's tire As the White Whale races the Thresher's ire When they war by the frozen Pole. " Captain, the shells are falling fast, ".And faster still fall we; 'And it is not meet for English stock "To bide in the heart of an eight-day cluck "The death they canno^ see." "Lie down, lie down, mv 'ook! .A. B., "We drift upon her beam; "We dare not ram, for she can run: ".And dare ye tire another gun, ".And liie in the peeling steam?" . 1 i6o RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE It was our war-ship Clampherdovm That carried an armour-belt; But fifty feet at stern and bow Lay bare as the paunch of the purser's sow, To the hail of the Nordenfeldt. " Captain, they lack us through and through; "The chilled steel bolts are swift! "We have emptied the bunkers in open sea, " Their shrapnel bursts where our coal should be." And he answered, "Let her drift." It was our war-ship Clampherdown, Swung round upon the tide, Her two dumb guns glared south and north, And the blood and the bubbling steam ran forth, And she ground the cruiser's side. "Captain, they cry, the fight is done, "They bid you send your sword." .And he answered, "Grapple her stern and bow. "They have asked for the steel. They shall have it now; "Out cutlasses and board!" It was our war-ship Clampherdown Spewed up four hundred men; And the scalded stokers yelped delight. As they rolled in the waist and heard the fight. Stamp o'er their steel-walled pen. They cleared the cruiser end to end From conning-tower to hold. They fought as they fought in Nelson's fleet; They were stripped to the waist, they were bare to the feet. As it was in the days of old. '-"7 M* ■ *t- ' INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 It was the sinking Clampherdovm Heaved up her battered side — And carried a million pounds in steel, To the cod and the corpse-fed conger-eel, And the scour of the Channel tide. It was the crew of the Clampherdovm Stood out to sweep the sea. On a cruiser won from an ancient fc ■, As it was in the days of long ago. And as it still shall be! i6i CRUISERS I 899 ^S OUR mother the Frigate, bepainted and fine, Made play for her bully the Ship of the Line; So we, her bold daughters by iron and fire. Accost and decoy to our masters' desire. Now, pray you, co!:sider what toils we endure. Night-walking wet sea-lanes, a guard and a lure; Since half of our trade is that same prettv sort As mettlesome wenches do practise in port. For this is our office: to spy and make room, .■\s hiding yet guiding the foe to their doom. Surrounding, confounding, we bait and betray .^nd tempt them to battle the seas' width away. The pot-bellied merchant foreboding nn wrong With headlight and sidelight he lieth along Till, lightless and lightfo. t and lurking, leap we To force him discover his business by sea. l62 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE AiiJ when we have wakened the lust of a foe, To draw him by flight toward our bullies we go, Till, 'ware of strange smoke stealing nearer, he flics Or our bullies close in for to make him good prize. So, when we have spied on the path of their host, One flieth to carry th; vord to the coast; And, lest by false d. j. clings they turn and go free, One lieth behind t'" ■.. to follow and see. Anon we return, being gathered again. Across the sad valleys all drabbled with rain — Across the grey ridges all crisped and curled — To join the long dance round the curve of the world. The bitter salt spindrift, the sun-glare likewise. The moon-track a-tremblc, bewilders our eyes, Where, linking and lifting, our sisters we hail 'Twixt wrench of cross-surges or plunge of head-gale. As maidens awaiting the bride to come forth Make play with light jestings and wit of no worth, So.widdershins circling the bride-bed of death, Each fleereth her neighbour and-signeth and saith: — "What see ye? Their signals, or levin afar? "What hear ve? God's thunder, or guns of our war? "What mark ye? Their smoke, or the cloud-rack outbluwn: "What chase ye? Their lights, or the Uaystar low down?" So, times past all number deceived by false showi, Deceiving we cumber the road of our foes, For this is Dur virtue: to track and betray; Preparing great battles a sea's width away. ,Voai pi'ace is at end and our peoples take heart. For the laws are clean gone that restrained our art; Up and down the near headlands and against the far wind II t arc loosed (0 be swift !) to the work of our kind! INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 163 THE VERDICTS (JUTLAND) 1916 ^OT in the thick of the fight. Not in the press of the odds. Do the heroes come to their height, Or we know the demi-gods. That stands over till peace. We can only perceive Men returned from the seas, Very grateful for leave. They grant us sudden days Snatched from their busin^:ss of war; But we are too close to appraise What manner of men they arc. And, whether their names go down With age-kept victories. Or whether they battle and drown . Unreckoned, is hid from our eyes. They are too near to be great, But our children shall understand When and how our fate Was changed, and by whose haml. Our children shall measure their worrh. We are content to be blind . . . But we know that we walk on a new-born earth With the saviours of mankind. |64 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE THE DESTROYERS 1898 'THE strength of twice three thousand horse That seeks the single goal; The line that holds the rending course. The hate that swings the whole: The stripped hulls, slinking through the gloom, At gaze and gone again— The Brides of Death that wait the groom — The Choosers of the Slain 1 Offshore where sea and skyline blend In rain, the daylight dies; The sullen, shouldering swells attend Night and our sacrifice. Adown the stricken capes no flare — No mark on spit or bar, — Girdled and desperate we dare The blindfold game of war. Nearer the up-flung beams that spell The council of our foes; Clearer the barking guns that tell Their scattered flank to close. Sheer to the trap they crowd their way From por:s for this unbarred. Quiet, and count our laden prey. The convoy and her guard! On shoal with scarce a foot below. Where rock and islet throng, Hidden and hushed we watch them throw Their anxious lights along. « i INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 Not here, not here your danger lies — (Stare hard, O hooded eyne!) Save where the dazed rock-pigeons rise The lit cliffs give no sign. Therefore - to break the rest ye seek, The Narrow Seas to clear — Hark to the siren's whimpering shriek — The driven death is here! Look to your van a league away, — What midnight terror stays The bulk that checks against the spray Her crackling tops abla/.e? Hit, and hard hit! The blow went home. The muffied, knocking stroke — The steam that overruns the foam — The foam that thins to smoke — The smoke that clokes the deep aboil — The deep that chokes her throes Till, streaked with ash and sleeked with oil. The lukewarm whirlpools close! A shadow down the sickened wave Long since her slayer fled: But hear their chattering quick-fires rave Astern, abeam, ahead! Panic that shells the drifting spar — Loud waste with none to check — Mad fear that rakes a scornful star Or sweeps a consort's deck. Now, while their silly smoke hangs thick, Now ere their wits they find. Lay in and lance them to the quick — Our gallied whales are blind! .65 m MIOOCOPY HeSOlUIION TEST CH*>T (ANSI ond ISO TEST CHART No 2] 1.0 :fia Ilia 12.2 I.I 12.0 lli^ iu 1.6 ^ .APPLIED ItvMGE •■tbi fa5i Moif <;tr,. if^(> RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Cjood luck to those that see the end, (iood-fiye to those that drown — I'or each his chance as chance shall send— And (Jod for alii Shut itoivi: .' Tlie ilrcih^lli rif txiit' !hytc llvmsand hi,rse That .UTVd tin' one t'ontmayid; The hand that hea-es ihe headlong f'iir,\ The hale thai hacks the liand: The d'lom-bolt in the darkt:esi Jreed^ The mine that splits the main; The 'eehite-hot wake, the 'i!;i/deii?ig speed- The Choosers of the Slain ! WHITE HORSES 1897 TJ/' HERE run your colls at pasture ? li^'here hide your mares to breed ? 'Mid bergs about the Ice-cap Or wove Sargasso weed; By chartless reef and channel, Or crafty coastwise bars. Hut inost the ocean-meadows All purple to the stars! ll^ho holds the rein upon you ? The latest gale let free. lyhat meal is in your manners ? The glut of all the sea. 'Twixt tide and tide's returning Great store of newly dead, — - The bones of those that faced us, And the hearts of those that fled. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 Afar, (iff-shore and single, Sonic- stallion, rearinc; swift. Neighs hungry for new fodtler, Ami calls us to the ilrift: Then clown the cloven ridges — A million hcoves unshod — Break forth the mad White Horses 'I'o seek their meat from (iod! 167 Girth-deep in hissini; water (Jur furious vanguard strains - Through mist of mighty tramplings Roll up the fore-blown manes— A hundred leagues to leeward, Ere yet the deep is stirred. The groaning rollers carry The coming of the herd ! IVhose hand may grip your nostrih — Your forelock who may hoWt E'en they that use the broads with us- The riders bred and bold, That spy upon our matings, That rope us where we run — They know the strong White Horses From father unto son. We breathe about their cradles, \Ve race their babes ashore, We snuff against their thresholds, We nuzzle at their door; By day with stamping squadrons, By night in whinnying droves. Creep up the wise White Horses, To call them from their loves. i68 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE And come they /or your calling ? No wit of man may save. They hear the loosed White Horses Above their fathers' grave; And, kin of those we crippled, And, sons of those we slew. Spur down the wild white riders To school the herds anew. IVhat service have ye paid them. Oh jealous steeds and strong ? Save we that throw their weaklings, Is none dare work them wrong; While thick around the homestead Our siiow-backed leaders graze — A guard behind their plunder, And a veil before their ways. With march and countermarchings — With weight of wheeling hosts — Stray mob or bands embattled — We ring the chosen coasts: And, careless of our clamour That bids the stranger fly, At peace within our pickets The wild white riders lie. Trust ye the curdled hollows — Trust ye the neighing wind — Trust ye the moaning groundswell — Our herds are close behind! To bray your foeman's armies — To chill and snap his sword — Trust ye the wild White Horses, The Horses of the Lord ! INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 :6) A SONG IN STORM ^E WELL assured that on our side The abiding oceans fight, Though headlong wind and heaping tide Make us their sport to-night. By force of weather not of war In jeopardy we steer: Then welcome Fate's discourtesy Whereby it shall appear, How in all time of our distress. And our deliverance too, The game is more than the player of the game, And the ship is more than the crewl Out of the mist into the mirk The glimmering combers roll. A 'most these mindless waters work As though they had a soul — Almost as though they leagued to wheim Our flag beneath their green: Then welcome Fate's discourtesy Whereby it shall be seen, etc. Be well assured, though wave and wind Have mightier blows in store. That we who keep the watch assigned Must stand to it the more; And as our streaming bows rebuke Each billow's baulked career. Sing, welcome Fate's discourtesy Whereby it is made clear, etc. •m 170 RUDYARD KIPLING S VERSE No matter though our decks be swept And mast and timber crack — Wc can make good all loss except The loss of turning back. Sii, 'twixt these Devils and our deep Let courteous trumpets sound, To welcome Fate's discourtesy Whereby it will be found, etc. Be well assured, though in our power Is nothing left to give But chance and place to meet the hour, -And leave to strive to live. Till these dissolve our Order holds. Our Service binds us here. Then welcome Fate's discourtesy Whereby it Is made clear, How in all time of our distress, .As in our triumph too. The game is more than the player of the game, .And the ship is more than the crew! THE DERELICT 1894 '^Ind reports the derelict 'Mary Pollock ' still at sea " Shipping News, / WAS the staunches! of our fleet Till the sea rose beneath my /eel Unheralded, in hatred past all measure. Into his pits he stamped my crew. Buffeted, blinded, bound and threw. Bidding me eyeless wait upon his pleasure. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885 1918 .71 Man made me, and my «ill Is to my maker still, \Miom now the currents con, the rollers steer — Lifting forlorn to spy Trai.d smoke along tlie sky, Falling afraid lest any keel come near I Wrenched as the lips of thirst, Wried, dried, and split and burst, Bone-bleached my decks, wind-scoured to the graining; And, jarred at every roll. The gear that was my soul Answers the anguish of my beams' cnmplaininc. Kor life that crammed me full, Gangs of the prying gull That shriek and scrabble on the riven hatches. I'or roar that dumbed the gale. My hawse-pipes' guttering wail. Sobbing my heart out through the uncounted watches. Blind in the hot blue ring Through all my points I swing — Swing and return to shift the sun anew. Blind in my well-known sky I hear the stars go by, Mocking the prow that cannot hold one true. White on my wasted path Wave after wave in wrath Frets 'gainst his fellow, warring where to senil nic. Flung forward, heaved aside. Witless and dazed I bide 'I'lie mercy of the comber that shall end me. Nil 172 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE North where the bergs careen, The spray of seas unseen Smokes round my head and freezes In the falling. South where the corals breed, The footless, floating weed Folds me and fouls me, strake on strake upcrawling. I that was clean to run My race against the sun — Strength on the deep — am bawd to all disaster; Whipped forth by night to meet My sister's careless feet. And with a kiss betray her to my master. Man made me, and mv will Is to my maker still — To him and his, our peoples at their pier: Lifting in hope to spy Trailed smoke along the sky, F;'.' 'g afraid lest any keel come near! THE MERCHANTMEN 1 893 l^ING SOLOMON dr w merchantmen, Because of his desire For peacocks, apes, and ivory. From Tarshish unto Tyre, With cedars out of Lebanon Which Hiram rafted down, But we be only sailormen That use in London town. I t INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 173 Coastwise— cross-seas— rnund the world anti hack again— Inhere the flaw shall head us or the full Trade suits— Plain-sail^slonn-sail —lay your board and tack again — ^nd that's the way we'll pay Paddy Doyle/or his boots ! We bring no store of ingots, Of spice or precious stones. But what we have we gathered With sweat and aching bones: In flame beneath the tropics, In frost upon the floe, And jeopardy of every wind That does between them go. And some we got by purchase, And some we had by trade, And some we found by courtesy Of pike and carronade — At midnight, 'mid-sea meetings, For charity to keep, And light the rolling homeward-bound That rode a foot too deep! By sport of bitter weather We're walty, strained, and scarred From the kentledge on the kelson To the slings upon the yard. Six oceans had their will of us To carry all away — Our galley's in the Baltic, And our boom's in Mossel Bay! We've floundered off the Texel, Awash with sodden deals. We've slipped from Valparaiso With the Norther at our heels: 174 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Wu'vu ratchcil licyoml the Crosscts That tusk the Southern I'ole, Aiiil Jippeil our gunnels under To the drea.' Agulhas roll. Beyond all outer charting We sailetl where none have sailed, And saw the land-lights burning On islands none have hailed; Our hair stood up for wonder. But, when the night was done. There danced the deep to windward Blue-empty 'neath the ;>unl Strange consorts rode beside us And brought us evil luck; The witch-fire climbed our channels, And flared on vane and truck: Till, through the red tornado, That lashed us nigh to blind, We saw The Dutchman plunging, I'ull canvas, head to wind! We've heard the Midnight Leadsman That calls the black deep down — Av, thrice we've heard The Swimmer, The Thing that may not drown. On frozen bunt and gasket The sleet-cloud drave her hosts, When, manned by more than signed with us We passed the Isle of Ghosts'. .^nd north, amid the hummocks, A biscuit-toss below. We met the silent shallop That frighted whalers know; INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 <>r, down a cruel icc-lani.', That optncil as he spal, Wu saw ili-ad Hi- Iri.k Hudson St^-cr, North I)) W-.st, his .iiad. So dt.u: i.ud's wat'.-rs with us Bcntaih the roaring skies, So walked His sii!;ns ami marvels All naked to our eves: But we were headiny homeward With trade to lose or make C'jod Lord, they slipped behind us In the tailing of our wakel Let go, let go the anchors; Xow shameil at heart are we lo hring so poor a cargo home That had tor gift the seal Let go the great bow-anchor— Ah, fools were we and blind — The worst we stored with utter toil, The best we left behind! Coaslwise-nnss-.^eas—roiiiiii llw 'x„rUi and hack a^aiii, ^ miuhcrjiaiv shall fait us or the Trades drive dav:,,: l'lain-sail—slimi,-sail~lay your board and lack a^aiii- And all to bring a cargo up to London Torjn ! '75 THE SOXG OF DIEGO \'ALDEZ 1902 jpHE God of Fair Beginnings Hath prospered here my hand— The cargoes of my lading. And the keels of my command. 176 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE For out of many ventures That sailed with hope as high, My own have made the better trade, And Admiral am I. To me my King's much honour. To me my people's love — To me the pride of Princes And power all pride above; To me the shouting cities, To me the mob's refrain: — "Who knows not noble Valdez, "Hath never heard of Gpain." But I remember comrades — Old playmates on new seas — Whenas we traded orpiment Among the savages — A thousand leagues to south'ard And thirty years removed — They knew not noble Valdez, But me they knew .-nd loved. Then they that found good liquor. They drank it not alone. And they that found fair plunder, They told us every one. About our chosen islands Or secret shoals between. When, weary from far voyage, We gathered to careen. There burned our breaming-fagots .AH pale along the shore: There rose our worn pavilions — A sail above an oar: INCLUSIVE EDITIOM. 1885-19Irf As flashed each yearning anchor I bruugh nicllDw seas artrc, So swift luir careless captains Roweil each to his desire. Where lay our loosened harness? Where tiinied our naked • ,-<■ Whose tavern 'mid the pali, srces- ,^,u r "' Huenchings of what heatr Oh fountain in the desert! Oh cistern in the waste! Oh bread we af \ secret! Oh cup we spilled in haste! The youth new-taught of longing, I he widow curbed and wan, The goodwife proud at season, And the maid aware of man- All souls unslaked, consuming IXtrauded in delays. Desire not more their quittance Than I those forfeit days! I dreamed to wait my pleasure Unchanged my spring would bide: VNhercfore, to wait my pleasure I put my spring aside Till, first in face of Fortune, And last in mazed disdain, 1 made Diego Valdez High Admiral of Spain. Then walked no wind 'neath Heaven Nor surge that did not aid— i dared extreme occasion. Nor ever one betrayed. >r7 I7« RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE They wnnight a deeper treason — (lleii seas that served my needs!) They sold Diego Valdez To bondage of great deeds. The tempest flung me seaward, And pinned and bade me hold The course I might not alter — And men esteemed me bold! The calms embayed my quarry, Thj fog-wreath sealed his eyes; The dawn-wind brought my topsails— Anti men esteemed me wise! i ? Yet 'spite my tyrant triumphs Bewildered, dispossessed — My dream held I before me— My vision of my rest; But, crovned by Fleet and People, And boui'd by King and Pope- Stands here Diego Valdez To rob ne of my hope. No prayer of mine shall move him, No word of his set free The Lord of Sixty Pennants And the StewaW of the Sea. His will can loose ten thousand To seek their loves again — But not Diego Valdez, High .^dmiral of Spain. There walks no wind 'neath Heaven Nor wave that shall restore The old careening riot And the clamorous, crowded shore— INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 The fountain in the desert, The cistern in the waste, The bread we ate in secret, The cup we spilled in haste. Now call I to my Captains - For council fly the sign, Now leap their zealous galleys. Twelve-oared, across the brine. To me the straiter prison. To me the heavier chain — To me Diego Valdez, High .Admiral of Spain! 179 THE .SECOND iOYAGE I 903 WT'E'VE sent our little Cupids all ashore— They were frightened, they were tired, they were cold; ^ ^^r sails of silk and purple go to store, And we've cut away our mast of beaten gold „, , . , (Foul weather!) Uhtis hemp and singing pine for to stand against the brine, But Love he is our master as of old ! The sea has shorn our galleries away, The salt has soiled our gilding past remede: Our pamt is flaked and blistered by the spray. Our sides are half a fathom furred in weed , (Foul weather!) And the Doves of Venus fled and the petrels came instead, But Love he was our master at our need! l8o RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE 'Was Youth would keep no vigil at the bow, 'Was Pleasure at the helm too drunk to steer — We've shipped three able quartermasters now. Men call them Custom, Reverence, and Fear (Foul weather!) They are old and scarred and plain, but we'll run no risk again From any Port o' Paphos mutineer! We seek no more the tempest for delight, We skirt no more the indraught and the shoal — We ask no more of any day or night Than to come with least adventure to our goal (Foul weather!) What we find we needs must brook, but we do not go to look, Nor tempt the Lord our Goii that saved us whole. Yet, caring so, not overmuch we care To brace and trim for every foolish blast. If the squall be pleased to sweep us unaware. He may bellow off to leeward like the last (Foul weather!) We will blame it on the deep (for the watch must have their sleep), And Love tan come and wake us when 'tis past. Oh launch them down with music from the beach, Oh warp them out with garlands from the quays — Most resolute — a damsel unto each — New prows that seek the old Hesperidesl (Foul weather!) Though we know their voyage is vain, yet we see our path again In the saffroned bridesails scenting all the seas! (Foul weather!) INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 iSl THE OLDEST SONG For before Eve was U\hh.—OU Tali. '"PHESE were never your true love's eyes. Why do you feign that you love them? lou that broke from their constancies, And the wide calm brows above them ! This was never your true love's speech. Why do you thrill when you hear it? You that have ridden out of its reach The width of the world or near it! This was never your true love's hair,— You that chafed when it bound you Screened from knowledge or shame or care In the night that it made around you!" ' "All these things I know, I know. ..T^"'* '•'"'* *''y ""y ''eart is breaking!" I hen what do you gain by pretending so?" 1 he joy of an old wound waking." THE LINER SHE'S A LADY 1 894 T^tk^m' ^^^\f- 'M>'' ^"' '•'^ "'=^^'- '°°ks nor -eeds- needsT" '''^'""^' ='"' '' ^-es 'er all she ThI'v't'iutt'll"'' "^g-l^"'. 'hat sail the wet seas roun', Ihey re just the same as you an' me a-plyin' up an' down! 1 82 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Plyiii' up an down, Jenny, 'angin' rniinil ihe Yard, All the awv by Fratton tram down to Portsmoulli ' Ard; .Inythin for business, an' we're growiit' old — Ptyin' up an down, Jenny, aaitin' in the cold ! The Liiitr she's a laUy by the paint upon 'er face, An' if she meets an accident the\ cf)unt it sore disgrace. The Man-o'-War's 'er 'ushand, and 'e 's always 'andv by. But, oh, the little cargo-boats, they've got to load or die! f i The Liner she's a lady, and 'er route is cut an' dried; The Man-o'-War's 'er 'usband, an' 'e always keeps beside; But, oh, the little cargo-boats that 'aven't any man, They've got to do their business first, and make the most they can ! The Liner she's a lady, and if a war should come. The Man-o'-War's 'er 'usband, and 'e'd bid 'er stay at home; But, oh, the little cargo-boats that fill with every tide! 'E'd 'ave to up an' fight for them for they are England's pride. The Liner she's a lady, but if fhe was n't made. There still would be the cargo-boats for 'ome an' foreign trade. The Man-o'-War's 'er 'usband, but if we wasn't ere, 'E would n't have to fight at all for 'ome an' friends so dear. 'Ome an' friends so dear, Jenny, 'angin' round the Yard, All the way by Fratton tram down to Portsmouth 'Ard; Anythin' for business, an' we're growin' old — 'Ome an' friends so dear, Jenny, waitin' in the cold ! INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 ,83 THE KlKsr CHANTEY I fi 9 6 \^1\E was the woman to me, darklint; I found her: Hahng her dumb from the camp, held her and hound her. Hot rose her trihe on our track ere I had proved her- Hearing her laugh m the gloom, greatly I loved her. Switt through the forest we ran, none stood to guard us Pew were my people and far; then the flood l.~arred us— Him we call .Son of the Sea, sullen and swollen. Panting we waited the death', stealer and stolen. Yet ere they came to mv lance laid for the slaughter. Lightly she leaped to a log lapped in the water; Holding on high and apart skins that arrayed her. Called she the God of the Wind that He should aid her. Life had the tree at that word (Praise we the Giver') Otter-like left he the bank for the full river. Far fell their axes behind, flashing and ringing, Wonder was on me and fear— yet"^ she was singing! Low lay the land we had left. Xow the blue bound us, Even the Floor of the Gods level around us. Whisper there was not, nor word, shadow nor showing, Till the light stirred on the deep, glowing and growing! Then did He leap to His place flaring from under, He the Ccmpeller, the Sun, bared to our wonder. N'ay, not a league from our eves blinded with gazing Cleared He the Gate of the World, huge and amazing! i84 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE This we beheld (and we live)— the Pit of the Burning! Then the God spoke to the tree for our returning; Back to the beach of our flight, fearless and slowly, Back to our slayers went he: but we were holy. Men that were hot in that hunt, women that followed, Babes that were promised our bones, trembled and wallowed. Over the necks of the Tribe crouching and fawning- Prophet and priestess we came back from the dawning! THE LAST CHANTEY 1892 "And there was no more sea" 'J'HUS said the Lord in the Vault above the Cherubim, Calling to the Angels and the Souls in their degree: "Lo! Earth has passed away On the smoke of Judgment Day. That Our word may be established shall We gather up the sea?" Loud sang the souls of the jolly, jolly mariners: "Plague upon th» hurricane that made us furl and flee! But the war is dee between us. In the deep the Lord hath seen us — Our bones we'll leave the barracout", and God may sink the sea!" Then said the soul of Judas that betrayed Him: "Lord, hast Thou forgotten Thy covenant with me? How once a year I go To cool me on the floe ? And Ye take my day of mercy if Ye take away the sea. " INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 ,8j Then said the soul of the Angel of the Off-shore Wind- (He ^hat bits the thunder when the bull-mouthed brealcers " I have watch and ward to keep O'er Thy wonders on the deep And Ye take mine honour from'mc if Vc take away the Loud sang the souls of the joilv, lollv mariners: Aay, but we were angry, and a hastv folk are we. it we worked the ship together Till she foundered in foul weather '''"' The ta' ■•''"" "' '''°"''' ''"'"""'■ '''"■ •'• ^•^"b"--'""-'-- <>" Then .aid the souls of the slaves that men threw overboard: Kennelled m the picaroon a weary band were we- nut ihy arm was strong to save, And it touched us on the wave ■^"'\re ser'""* ''" ^°"^ ''''"' ''"'" ''" ''"''■''■ T"™'"P'--« t<"-e Then cried the soul of the stout Apostle Paul to God- Unce we frapped a ship, and she laboured woundily. 1 here were fourteen score of these, And they blessed Thee on their knees, "he s'ear '""* '^^^ ^"'"' ""'' ^'"'^ ""^"' ^''^"' ^Y Loud sang the souls of the jolly, jolly mariners, Pluckmg at their harps, and they plucked unhandily: Uur thumbs are rough and tarred, And the tune is something hard- May we lift a Deepsea Chantey such as seamen use at ,■)': 1 86 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Then saul the souls of the gentlemen-adventurers — Fettered wrist to bar all for red iniquity: "Ho, we revel in our chains O'er the sorrow that was Spain's; Heave or sink it, leave or drink "it, we were masters of the sea!" Up spake the soul of a grey Gothavn 'speckshioner — (He that led the flenching in the fleets of fair Dundee): "Oh, the ice-blink white and near, And the bowhead breaching clear! Will Ye whelm them all for wantonness that wallow in the Rpn ?" Loud sang the souls of the jolly, jolly mariner , Crying: "Under Heaven, here is neither Lad nor lee! Must we sing for evermore On the windless, glassy floor? Take back your golden fiddles ami we'll beat to open sea!" Then stooped the Lord, and He called the good sea up to Him, And 'stablished its borders linto all eternity, That such as have no pleasure For to praise the Lord by measure. They may enter into galleons and serve Him on the sea. Sun, IVind, and Cloud shall Jail not from the face of it. Stinging, ringing spindrift, nor the fulmar flying free; And the ships shall go abroad To the Glory of the Lord Who heard the silly sailor-folk and gave them hack their sea ! INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 THE EXILES' LINE , I S 90 JVJOW the new year reviving old desires, I he restless soul to open sea aspires, \ here the Bh.e Peter flickers trom'the fore, And the grimed stoker feeds the engine-fires. Coupons, alas, depart with all their rows, ButTtiirth ' "Tr" \°^'', ^^"' ^""'""y knows; But still the wild wind wakes of Gardafui, And hearts turn eastward with the P. and O's. Oniorh''f"r' '".''""r' ^' ""'y """' °' '«'- Oh slothful mother of much idleness, Whom neither rivals spur nor contracts speed! Nay, bear us gently! Wherefore need we press? The Tragedy of all our East is laid stZ l^''" '^^f^' ^"'"'^ '^^ ^^"'"S =^hade- A„H f '1 '^', °"S'"g. laughter, love and tears. And death unmaking ere the land is made. And midnight madnesses of souls distraught Whom the cool seas call through the open port. So that the table lacks one place next morn. And tor one forenoon men forego their sport. The shadow of the rigging to and fro And'nt "' '"'^ '"'''^" °" '^' spar-deck's snow. And like a giant trampling in his chains, I he screw-blades gasp and thunder deep below 187 r 188 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Anil, leagued to watch one flying-fish's wings, Heaven stoops tu sea, and sea to Heaven cHngs; While, bent uix>n the ending of his toil. The hot sun strides, regarding not these things; Kor the same wave that meets our stem in ipray Bore Smith of Asia eastward yesterday, And Delhi Jones and Brown of Midnapore To-morrow follow nn the self-same way. Linked in the chain of Kmpire one by one. Flushed with long leave, or tanned with many a sun. The Exiles' Line brings out the exiles' line And ships them homeward when their work is done. Yea, heedless of the shuttle through the loom, The flying" keels fulfil the web of doom. Sorro,. or shouting — what is that to them? Make out the cheque that pays for cabin room! And how so many score of times ye flit With wife and babe and caravan of kit, Not all thy travels past, shall lower one fare. Not all thy tears abate one pound of it. And how so high thine earth-born dignity, Honour and state, go sink it in the sea, Till that great one upon the quarter deck. Brow-bound with gold, shall give thee leave to be. Indeed, indeed from that same line we swear Oflf for all time, and mean it when we swear; And then, and then we meet the Quartered Flag, And, surely for the last time, pay the fare. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 And Green of Kensington, estrayed to view wl', •^k'uT'" '^' *°'''l •" """ knew, And^" blind eye, upon the Quartered Flkg And sees no more than yellow, red and blue. But we the gypsies of the East, but we- Waifs of the land and wastrels of the sea- TK^n"" "T" home beneath the Quartered FUr Than ever home shall come to such as we. The camp is struck, the bungalow decays, ""i ''}\"'^^ »"'! houses desert mark our ways nil sickness send us down to Prince's Dock ' i o meet the changeless use of many days. Bound in the wheel of Empire, one by one. The cham-gangs of the East from sire to son. A„H I l' '-'l"^ "''" ""f '•>« exiles' line And ships then, homeward when their work is done. How runs the old indictment? "Dear and slow," So much and twice so much. We gird, but go. For all the soul of our sad East if th;re. * Beneath the house-flag of the P. and O 189 THE LONG TR.AIL '^"T'hrrtir '°*" ''' '^" """"^ '"^ y^" '■^ And the ricks stand grey to the sun, ^"^'"'cwl" "''"• '°'"' °'"' ^°' '"^ ^' has quit the "And your English summer's done." RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE You have heard the heat of the off-shore wimi, Anil the thresh of the ileep-seii rain; You have hearil the song— how long? how long? Pull out on the trail again! Ha' done with the Tents of Shem, ilear lass, We've seen the seasons through, And it's time to turn on the old trail, our own trail, the out trail. Pull out, pull out, on the Long Trail — the trail that is always new I ^1 It's North you may run to the rime-ringed sun Or South to the hliml Horn's hate; Or F.ast all the way into Mississippi Bay, Or West to the Golden (iate — Where the blindest lilutfs hold g5 ow we serve the Lord ! Hear nou, a song-a song of broken interludes- ^ song of httle cunning; of a singer nothing worth. Jhroi, . the naked words and mean May ye see the truth between ^s the singer knew and touched it in the ends of all the Earth ! THE COASTWISE LIGHTS Ql^R brows are bound with spindrift and the weed is on our knees; Our loi^ns^^are battered 'neath us by the swinging, sn , .ing From r^e^ef^nd rock and skerry-over headland, ness, and The Coastwise Lights of England watch the ships of England Throug^h^he endless summer evenings, on the lindess, level Through the' yelling Channel tempest when the siren hoot. and roars — By day^^th^dipping house-flag and by night the rocket's ^' '''"tfeThail" ^''^'' '"'""^' "' '" "' ''"°* '^'"' ""-^'"^ 196 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE We bridge across the dark, and bid the helmsman have a care, The flash that, wheeling inland, wakes his sleeping wife to prayer. From our vexed eyries, head to gale, we bind in burning chains The lover from the sea-rim drawn — his love in English lanes. iA We greet the clippers wing-and-wing that race the Southern wool; Wc warn the crawling cargo-tanks of Bremen, Leith, and Hull; To each and all our equal lamp at peril of the sea — 'I'he white wall-sided warships or the whalers of Dundee! Come up, come in from Eastward, from the guardports of the Morn ! Beat up, beat in from Southerly, O gipsies of the Horn ! Swift shuttles of an Empire's loom that weave us main to main. The Coastwise Lights of t^ngland give you welcome back again ! Go, get you gone up-Channel with the sea-crust on your plates; Go, get you into London with the burden of your freights! Haste, for they talk of Empire there, and say, if any seek. The Lights of England sent you and by silence shall ye speak! THE SONG OF THE DEAD f-TRAR now the Song of the Dead — in the North by the torn berg-edges — They that look still to the Pole, asleep by their hide-stripped sledges. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 ,97 So»g of,h( Bead in the South-in the sun by their skeleton horses, mere the warrigal whimpers and bays through the dust of the sere rtver-courses. ^1^7 "f'!''^"^ '" "'l ^o"-"' >he heat-rotted jungle-hollows. waltowT '" "" ''''"'^~'" "" ^"''^ "f"" '"'ff''lo- Song of the Dead in the lVest~in the Barrens, the pass that betrayed them, mere the wolverine tumbles their packs from the car>p and the grave-mound . hey made them; Hear now the Song of the Dead ! I We were dreamers, dreaming greatly, in the man-stifled town; We yearned beyond the sky-line where the strange roads eo down. ° Came the Whisper, ^ame the Vision, came the Power with the Need, Till the Soul that is not man's soul was lent us to lead As the deer breaks-as the steer breaks-from the herd where they graze. In the faith oflittle children we went on our ways Then the wood failed— then the food failed— then the last water dried — In the faith oflittle children we lay down and died On the sand-dnft-on the veldt-side-in the fern-scrub we lay. That our sons might follow after by the bones on the way tollow after-follow after ! We have watered the root ' And the bud has come to blossom that ripens for fruit'' toUow after-we are waiting, by the trails that we lost, tor the ^unds of many footsteps, for the tread of a host frollow after-follow after-for the harvest is sown- By the bones about the wayside ye shall come to your own' lys RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE When Drake tceitl i/oti-ii In the Horn And England was crowned Iherehy, 'Twixt seas misailed and shores wihaUed Our Lodge — oiir Lodge was born (And England v;as crowned thereby !) Il'hirh never shtttl close a«^ain Hy day nor yet by nighty Ji'hile man shall take his life to stake .it risk of shoal or main (By day nor yet by night) But standeth even so As now we witness here, IVhile men depart, of jovfitl heart. Adventure for to know (As now bear witness here .') II We have fed our sea for a thousand years And she calls us, still unfed. Though there's never a wave of all her waves But marks our English dead: We have strawed our best to the weed's unrest, To the shark and the sheering gull. If blood be the price of admiralty, Lord God, we ha' paid in full! There's never a flood goes shoreward now But lifts a keel we manned; There's never an ebb goes seaward now But drops our dead on the sand — But slinks our dead on the sands forlore, From the Ducies to the Swin. If blood be the price of admiralty, If blood be the price of admiralty, Lord God, we ha' paid it in! INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 We niust feed our sea for a thousami years, I'or that is our doom and pride, As it was when they sailed with the Golden Hwd, Or the wreck that struck last tide— Or the wreck that lies on the spouting reef Where the ghastly blue-lights flare. If blood be the price of admiralty, If blood be the price of admiraltv, If blood be the price of admiralty. Lord God, we ha' bouaht it fair! 199 THE DEEP-SEA CABLES 'J'HE wrecks dissolve above us; their dust drops down from afar — Down to the dark, to the utter dark, where the blind white sea-snakes are. There is no sound, no echo of sound, in the deserts of the deep. Or the great grey level plains of 00/e where the shell-burred cables creep. Here in the womb of the world— here on the tie-ribs of earth V\ords, and the words of men, flicker and flutter and beat— Warnmg, sorrow, and gain, salutation and mirth— For a Power troubles the Still that has neither voice nor feet. They have wakened the timeless Things; they have killed their father Time; Joining hands in the gloom, a league from the last of the sun. Hush ! Men talk to-day o'er the waste of the ultimate slime, And a new Word runs between: whispering, "Let us be onel" RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE THE SONG OF THE SONS o iNE from the ends of the earth — gifts at an open door — Treason has much, but we, Mother, thy sons have more! From the whine of a dying man, from the snarl of a wolf-pack freed. Turn, and the world is thine. Mother, be proud of thy seed! Count, are we feeble or few? Hear, is our speech so rude? Look, are we poor in the land? Judge, are we men of The Blood? Those that have stayed at thy knees, Mother, go call them in — We that were bred overseas wait and would speak with our kin. Not in the dark do we fight — haggle and flout and gibe; Selling our love for a price, loaning our hearts for a bribe. Gifts have we only to-day — Love without promise or fee — Hear, for thy children speak, from the uttermost parts of the sea! THE SONG OF THE CITIES BOMBAY D OYAL and Dower-royal^ I the Queen Fronting thy richest sea with richer hands- A thousand mills roar through me where I glean All races from all lands. Me the Sea-captain loved, the River built. Wealth sought and Kings adventured life to hold. Hail, England! I am Asia — Power on silt. Death in my hands, but Gold! INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 MADRAS ^ Wn„^"'f'*M' "" '*"= "'"""> ""J '^y" ""d brow, Wonderful kisses, so that I became bZ!^' '"" Q"^'^" V *"hered beldame now, Broodmg on ancient fame. RANGOON Hail, Mother! Do they call me rich in trade' Little care I, but hear the shorn priest drone And watch my silk-clad lovers, man by ma d" Laugh -neath my Shwe Dagon. SINGAPORE Hail Mother! East and West must seek my aid Ere the spent hull may dare the ports afar The second doorway of the wide world's trade Is mine to loose or bar. HONG-KONG Hail Mother! Hold me fast; my Praya sleeps Under innumerable keels to-day ^ Yet guard (and landward), or to-morrow sweeps Thy warships down the bay! ^ HALIFAX Into the mist my guardian prows put forth. The Warden of the Honour of the North Sleepless and veiled am I! QUEBEC AND MONTREAL Peace is our portion. Yet a whisper rose, Foolish and causeless, half in jeM, half hate Now wake we and remember might^ blows? And, tearing no man, wait! RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Krom East to West the circling word has passed, Till West is Kast beside our land-locked blue; From East to West the tested chain holds fast, The well-forged link rings true! CAPETOWN Hail! Snatched and bartered oft from hand to hand, I dream my dream, by rock and heath and pine, Of Empire to the northward. Ay, one land I'Vom IJon's Head to Line! MELBOLRXF, Greeting! Nor fear nor favour won us place, Got between greed of gold and dread of drouth, Loud-voiced and reckless as the wild tide-race That whips our harbour-mouth! Greeting! My birth-stain have I turned to good; Forcing strong wills perverse to steadfastness: The first flush of the tropics in my blood, And at my feet Success! brisba;• dugs a?e not 1 v. Look, I have made ye a place and opened wide the door's, rhat ye may talk together, your Barons and Councillor^- Uards of the Outer March. Lords of the Lower Sea, Av, talk to your grc> mother that bore you on her knees'- hat ye may talk together, brother to brother's face- theRl™ ^'""' '"^"•''"-'''"' f"' the Pride of Also we will make promise. So long as The Blood endures I shall know that your good is mine: ye shall fed that mv strength is yours: , ■ Th '^."r^^'^u^ Armageddon, at the last great fight of all That Our House stand together and the pillars do not kll A, r;hT ''^\""--'^W,'^"°' fi™ "" the ninefold bands landT ^'' ''""" ^^ '"* ''''" '^' ™'« °f )'""^ This for the waxen Heath, and that for the Wattle-bloom Th.s for the Maple-leaf, and that for the southern Bro'm.' I 204 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE The Law that ye make shall be law and I do not press my will, Because ye are Sons of The Blood and call me Mother still. Now must ye speak to your kinsmen and they must s(>cak to you, After the use of the English, in straight-flung words and few. Cio to your work and be strong, halting not in your ways. Baulking the end half-won for an instant dole of praise. Stand to your work and lie wise -certain of sword and pen, Who are neither children nor Gods, but men in a world of men! THE HOUSES I 8 y 8 (/Y Song of the Domintont) 'TWIXT my house and thy house the pathway is oroju In thy house or my house is half the world's hoard; By my house and thy house hangs all the world's fate, On thy house and my house lies half the world's hate. For my house and thy house no help shall we find Save thy house and my house — kin cleaving to kind; If my house be taken, thine tumblcth anon. If thy house be forfeit, mine followeth soon. 'Twixt my house and thy house what talk can there be Of headship or lordship, or service or fee? Since my house to thy house no greater can send Than thy house to my house — friend comforting friend; And thy house to my house no meaner can bring Than my house to thy house — King counselling King. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1835-1918 TO THE CITY OF BOMBAV I 894 THE Cities arr full of pride. ~. . ^-nallcnging each to each— lliis from her mountain-side, That from her burdened beach. Thev count their ships full tale— Their corn and oil and wine, Oerrick and loom and bale. And rampart's gun-flecked line; .yj^y City they hail: 'Hast aught to match with mine?" And the men that breed from them "17 traffic up and down, But clmg to their cities' hem As a .hild to the mother's gown. ^n " *h''' !i''"' *'"• '•'^ "^""g" bands, Dazed and newly alone; When they walk In the stranger lands. By roaring streets unknown: Blessing her where she stands i-or strength above their own. (On high to hold her fame That stands all fame beyond, By oath to back the same Most faithful-foolish-fond- Making her mere-breathed name 1 heir bond upon their bond.) JOS 2o6 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE So thank I God my birth Fell not in isles aside — Waste headlands of the earth. Or warring tribes untried — But that she lent me worth And gave me right to pride. Surely in toil or fray Under an alien sky, Comfort it is to say: "Of no mean city am I!" (Neither by service nor fee Come I to mine estate — Mother of Cities to me, But I was born in her gate, Between the palms and the sea, Where the world-end steamers wait.) Now for this debt I owe, And for her far-borne cheer Must I make haste and go With tribute to her pier. .And she shall touch and remit After the use of kings (Orderly, ancient, fit) My deep-sea plunderings, .And purchase in all lands. .And this we do for a sign Her power is over mine, .And mine I hold at her hands! INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 THE G'PSV TRAIL *J'HE white noih to the <•) .sing hine, The bei. tci .he opent clover, And the gipsj .|. . i .., th; gipsy blood r.ver the wide world over. Ever the wide world over, lass. Ever the trail held true, Over the w rid and under the world, And back at the la^t to you. Out of the dark nf the gorgio camp. Out of the grime and the gray (.Morning waits at the end of the world;, Gipsy, come away! The wild boar to the sun-dried swamp, The red crane to her reed. And the Romany lass to the Romanv lad By the tie of a roving breed. The pied snake to the rifted rock, The buck to the stony plain. And the Romany lass to the Romany lad. And both to the road again. Both to the road again, again! ^ Out on a clean sea-track — Follow the cross of the gipsy trail Over the world and back! Follow the Romany patteran North where the blue bergs sail. And the bows are gray with the frozen sprav, And the masts are shod with mail. i i 208 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Follow the Romany patteran Sheer to the Austral Light, Where the besom of God is the wild South wind, Sweeping the sea-floors white. Follow the Romany patteran West to the sinking sun, Till the junk-sails lift through the houseless drift. And the east and the west are one. Follow the Romany patteran East where the silence broods By a purple wave on an opal beach In the hush of the Mahim woods. "The wild hawk to the wind-swept sky, The deer to the wholesome wold And the heart of a man to the heart of a maid. As it was in the days of o' i." The heart of a man to the heart of a maid — Light of my tents, be fleet. Morning waits at the end of the world. And the world is all at our feet! OUR LADY OF THE SNOWS I 897 {Canadian Preferential Tariffs 1897) A NATION spoke to a Nation, A Queen sent word to a Throne: "Daughter am I in my mother's house. But mistress in my own. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 The gates are mine to open As the gates are mine to close, nnd I set my house in order " Saul our Lady of the Snows. "Neither with laughter nor weeping. Fear or the child's amaze- ^ Soberly under the White Man's law My white men go their ways. Not for the Gentiles' clamour- Insult or threat of blows- Bow we the knee to Baal," Said our Lady of the Snows. "My speech is clean and single. 1 talk of common things— Words of the wharf and the market-place And the ware the merchant brings: Favour to those I favour, ^ But a stumbling-block to my foes. Many there be that hate us," Said our Lady of the Snows, "I called my chiefs to council in the dm of a troubled year- For the sake of a sign ye would not see. And a word ye would not hear, ims IS our message and answer; ihis IS the path we chose: i-or we be also a people," Said our Lady of the Snows. "Carry the word to my sisters— I havet^^T i "'" ^"^ ^"d 'he South, i have proven faith in the Heritage By more than the word of the mouth 209 I 3IO RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE They that are wise may follow Ere the world's war-trumpet blows. But I — I am first in the battle," Said our Lady of the Snows. A Nation spoke to a Nation., .1 Throne sent word to a Throne: " Daughter am I in my mother s house. But mistress in my own. The gates are mine to open, As the gales are mine to close. And I abide by my Mother's House," Said our Lady of the Snows. AN AMERICAN 1894 The American Spirit speaks: IF THE Led Strikei ^all it a strike. Or the papers call it a war, They know not rriurh what I am like, Nor what he is. my Avatar. Through many roads, by me possessed, He shambles forth in cosmic guise; He is the Jester and the Jest, And he the Text himself applies. The Celt is in his heart and hand. The Gaul is in his brain and nerve; Where, cosmopolitanly planned. He guards the Redskin's dry reserve INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 His easy unswept hearth he lends trom Labrador to Guadeloupe; Till, elbowed out by sloven friends. He camps, at sufferance, on the stoop. Calm-eyed he scoffs at Sword and Crown Or, panic-blinded, stabs and slavs- Blatant he bids the world bow down. Or cringing begs a crust of praise;' Or, sombre-drunk, at mint and mart, He dubs his dreary brethren Kings. His hands are black with blood-his heart Leaps, as a babe's, at little things. But through the shift of mood and mood Mine ancient humour saves him whole- J he cynic devil in his blood That bids him mock his hurrying soul; That bids him flout the Law he makes That bids him make the Law he flouts, nil, dazed by many doubts, he wakes The drumming guns that-have no doubts; That checks him foolish-hot and fond. That chuckles through his deepest ire, Ihat gilds the slough of his despond But dims the goal of his desire; Inopportune, shrill-accented, The acrid Asiatic mirth That leaves him, careless 'mid his dead, I he scandal of the elder earth. RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE How shall he clear himself, how reach Your bar or weighed defence prefer^ A brother hedged with alien speech And lacking all interpreter? Which knowledge vexes him a space; But, while Reproof around him rings, He turns a keen untroubled face Home, to the instant need of things. Enslaved, illogical, elate. He greets the embarrassed Gods, nor fears To shake the iron hand of Fate Or match with Destiny for beers. it i j Lo, imperturbable he rules. Unkempt, disreputable, vast — And, in the teeth of all the schools, I — I shall save him at the last! THE CHOICE I 9 I 7 The American Spirit speaks: "J^O the Judge of Right and Wrong With Whom fulfilment lies Our purpose and our power belong. Our faith and sacrifice. INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 let Freedom's Land rejoice! Our ancient bonds are riven- Once more to us the eternal choice Of Good or 111 is given. Not at a little cost, -Hardly by prayer or tears, bhall we recover the road we lost In the drugged and doubting years. But, after the fires and the wrath But after searching and pain, His Mercy opens us a path To live with ourselves again. In the Gates of Death rejoice! We see and hold the good— \v7hT'\ ^'"u' *t '"'"^ "^''J^ °"^ choice With Freedom's brotherhood! Then praise the Lord Most High VVk .?'! Strength hath saved us whole. Who bade us choose that the Flesh should die And not the living Soul! 2'3 To the God in Man displayed— IVheree'er we see that Birth, Be love and understanding paid As never yet on earth ! To the Spirit that moves in Man, On Whom all isorlds depend. Be Glory since our world began And service to the end! JI4 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE THE YOUNG QUEEN 1900 {The CommonweaUh of Australia^ imiiiguratfj Xe-Ji Year'] Day, 1901) p^ER hand was still on her sword-hilt, the spur was still on her heel, She had not cast her harness of grey, war-dinted steel; High on her red-splashed charger, beautiful, bold, and browned, Bright-eyed out of the battle, the Young Queen rode to be crowned. She came to the Old Queen's presence, in the Hall of Our Thousantl Years — In the Hall of the Five Free Nations that are peers among their peers: Royal she gave the greeting, loyal she bowed the head, Crying— "Crown me, my Mother!" And the Old Queen rose and said: — "How can I crown thee further? I know whose standard flies Where the clean surge takes the Leeuwin or the coral barriers rise. Blood of our foes on thy bridle, and speech of our friends in How thv mouth- can I crown thee further, O Queen of the Sovereign Snn^h' ^ 'Let the Five Free Nations witness!" But the Young Queen answered swift: — 'It shall be crown of Our crowning to hold Our crown for a gift. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 j.j '" ""feS:" °"^ '•"" '^"^ f"'''^ "'y '-'i -de sure Wherefore^VVe come in power to take Our crown at thy '"' ^dr^^ ptr ^-'^ -"'-^'^ "". an. the jealo. ""'^^Ttt'ter' °' ''^ '^""'''^"'^ -^ ^^-^ ^•'''' ''■^ go''' \n7!l^ L""" '*"'''' °*" "P"'*. levin-hearted alive ' '"do'nXr '^ "™^^ "''''- '"-. ^- t of the Na. '° ' rna'-^^aL" ''' '''''-''-'" ^'^ "="' of 0.r Thou- '" "'%t>;eet '■" "■^'^^ ^="-°- '"" ''-^- "o peer but ""' 'lH?a/S':2Z::''' ^""'^'-'^ ^"-'^•'' ^own at And asked for a mother's blessing on the excellent years to be. •"" 't^d'dtorp-eJtT-'" '"^ "'"-- -''-^ '"e jewelled '"''^"setf^f^h '"'^''^ '" ''°-'"'— - P-'ie of thy Nay, -be women together-we know what that lust is Th::: LtaTtTdimiSrH^"'^ i"^"^* - ^ --^ -^od? aeait or dimmished at the secret will of God. I^Jl Il6 RUDYARD KIPLING S VERSE "I have swayed troublous councils, I am wise in terrible things; Father and son and grandson, I have known the hearts of the Kings. Shall 1 give thee my sleepless wisdom, or the gift all wisdom above? Ay, we be women together — I give thee thy people's love: "Tempered, august, abiding, reluctant of prayers or vows, Eager in face of peril as thine for thy mother's house. Ciod requite thee, my Sister, through the excellent years to be. And make thy people to love thee as thou hast loved me!" THE FLOWERS 1895 " To our private taste, there is always something a little exotic, almost arti- ficial, in songs which, under an English aspect and dress, are yet to manifestly the product of other skies. They affect us lilee translations; the very fauna and flora are alien, remote; the dog's-tooth violet is but an ill substitute for the rathf primrose, nor can we ever believe that the wood-robin sings as sweetly in April as the English thrush." The Athekxuu. "RVY my English posies! Kent and Surrey may — Violets of the Undercliff IVet with Channel spray; Cdwslips from a Devon combe — Midland furze afire — Buy my English posies And I'll sell your heart's desire I Buy my English posies! You that scorn the May, Won't you greet a friend from home Half the world away ? INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 »i7 Green against the draggled drift, Faint and frail and first- Buy my Northern blood-root n^ki. A u "^ ''.' ''"°"' '"^"'= >°" *'?'-e nursed ' Rob,n down the loggmg-road whistles, "Come to n.c'" Spring has found the maple-urove th, .nn ;T ^ ,. All the winds of Canada ^allT pi: ghrg',^"""'« '^"• Take the flower and turn the houi:, an'd kifs y^ur love again! Buy my English posies! Here's to match yoi,r need- Buy a tuft of royal heath. Buy a Innich of weed White as sand of Muisenberg Spun before the gale- Buy my heath and lilies lender hot Constantia broad the vinevanis li.- Thro„..l^a^d thorned the aching berg ,,ro,,,s the speckless Take the flower and turn the hour, and kiss your love again! Buy my English posies! You that will not turn- Buy my hot-wood clematis, Buy a frond o' fern Gathered where the Erskine leaps Uown the road to Lome— . J^"y my Christmas creeper \V».» t ^"W^ "y '"^"'^ >°" *ere born! West away from Melbourne dust holidays begin- rhey that mo k at Paradise woo at Cora Lyfn- Through the_gre...t South Otway gums sings'the great South Take the flower and turn the hour, and kiss your love again! ai8 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Buy my F.nglish posies! Here's your choice unsold! Buy a blcKjcl-reil rnyrtle-liloom, Buy tile kowhai's yolil Flung for gift on Taupo's face, Sign that spring is come — Buy my clinging myrtle And I'll give you back your home! Broom behind the windy town, pollen of the pine — Bell-bird in the leafy deep where the ratas twine — Kern above the saddle-bow, flax ujHm the plain — Take the flower and turn the hour, and kiss your love again! Buy my English posies! Ye that have your own Buy them for a brother's sake Overseas, alone! Weed ye trample underfoot Floods his heart abrim — Bird ye never heeded, Oh, she calls his dead to him! Far and far our homes are set round the Seven Seas; Woe for us if we forget, we who hold by these! Unto each his mother-beach, bloom and bird and land — Masters of the Seven Seas, oh, love and understand! i 1 3 s i 1 THE NATIVE-BORN 1894 ■y^E'VE drunk to the Queen— God bless her!- We've drunk to our mothers' landj We've drunk to our English brother, (But he does not understand); INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 We've diui.k r„ the wide creation, And the Cross swings low for the morn. Last toast, and of Obligation, A health to the Native-born! They change their skies above them But not their hearts that roam! ' We learned from our wistful mothers To call old Lngland "heme"; We read of the L.iglish skv-lark. Of the spring in the English lanes, Hut we screamed with the painted lories As we rode on the dusty plains! They passed with their old-world legends- Iheir tales of wrong and deiirth— Our fathers held bv purchase. But we by the right of birth; Our heart's where they rocked our cradle, Uur love where we spent our roil A,>d our faith and our hope and ou'r honour We pledge to our native soil! • you charge your glasses— _,<- you drink with me Jo th, men of the Four New Nations, And the Islands of the Sea— To the last least lump of coral That none may stand outside And our own good pride shall teach us To praise our comrade's pride. To the hush of the breathless mornins On the thm, tin, crackling roofs, lo the haze of the burned back-ranges And the dust of the shoeless hoofs— Jig RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE To the risk of a death by drowning, To the rislt of a death by drouth — To the men of a million acres, To the Sons of the Golden South! To the Sons of the Golden South (Stand up .'), And the life we live and know, Let a fellow sing o' the little things he cares about. If a fellow fights for the little things he cares about With the weight of a single blow I To the smoke of a hundred coasters, To the sheep on a thousand hills, To the sun that never blisters. To the rain that never chills — To the land of the waiting springtime, To our five-meal, meat-fed men. To the tall, deep-bosomed women. And the children nine and ten ! And the children nine and ten (Stand up .'), And the life we live and know. Let a fellow sing o' the little things he cares about. If a fellow fights for the' little things he cares about, With the weight of a two-fold blow ! To the far-flung, fenceless prairie Where the quick cloud-shadows trail, To our neighbour's barn in the offing And the line of the new-cut rail; To the plough in her league-long furrow With the grey Lake gulls behind — To the weight of a half-year's winter And the warm wet western wind! INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 To the home of the floods and thunder. To her pale dry healing blue- To the lift of the great Cape combers, And the smell of the baked Karroo. To the growl of the sluicing stamp-head- lo the reef and the water-gold. To the last and the largest Empire, To the map that is half unrolled! To our dear dark foster-mothers, 10 the heathen songs they sung- Jo the heathen speech we babbled Ere we came to the white man's tongue. To the coo of our deep verandas- lo the blaze of our jewelled main, Ami%"h^fi'' '« '^^ Pf'""' '" "'^ "'oonlight. And the fire-fly in the cane! To the hearth of Our People's People- To her well-ploughed windy sea, To the hush of our dread high-altar Where The Abbey makes us We To the gnst of the slow-ground ages, tJ?U u ^T r''?' '' y""'' ""'i "line- To the Bank of the Open Credit To the Power-house of the Line! We've drunk to the Queen-God bless her! VVe ve drunk to our mothers' land: We ve drunk to our English brother (And we hope he'll understand). We ve drunk as much as we're able And the Cross swings low for the'morn- Tu°Tr'"'i y°"' ^°°' °" the table !-' A health to the Native-born! 121 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE A health to the Native-born (Stand up .'), ffe're six white men arow, /ill bound to sing o' the little things we care about, All bound to fight for the Utile things we care about fVith the weight of a six-fold blow ! By the might of our cable-tow {Take hands .'), From the Orkneys to the Horn All round the world {and a little hop to pull it by'). All round the world {and a little strap to buckle it), A health to the Native-born I THE LOST LEGION 1895 THERE'S a Legion that never was 'listed, That carries no colours or crest. But, split in a thousand detachments, Is breaking the road for the rest Our fathers they left us their blessing — They taught us, and groomed us, and crammed; But we've shaken the Clubs and the Messes To go and find out and be damned (Dear boys!). To go and get shot and be damned. So some of us chivvy the slaver, And some of us cherish the black. And some of us hunt on the Oil Coast, .'\nd some on the Wallaby track; And some of us drift to Sarawak, And some of us drift up The Fly, And some share our tucker with tigers. And some with the gentle Masai, (Dear boys!). Take tea with the giddy Masai. INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 We've painted The Islands vermilion, We ve pearled on half-shares in the Bay. We ve shouted on seven-ounce nuggets We ve starved on a Seedeeboy's pay: We ve laughed at the world as we found it - Its women and cities and men— ' From Sayyid Burgash in a tantrum lo the smoke-reddened eyes of Loben, \M • ,• ■ ''^'^" boys!), We ve a little account with Loben. 223 The ends of the Earth were our portion, Ihe ocean at large was our share. 1 here was never a skirmish to windward Hut the Leaderless Legion was there: res somehow and somewhere and always We were first when the trouble began, i'rom a lottery-row in Manila, To an I.D.B. race on the Pan M7-.L L ., (Dear boys!), With the Mounted Police on the Pan. We preach in advance of the Armv .^^e skirmish ahead of the Church With never a gunboat to help us When we're scuppered and left in the lurch. But we know as the cartridges finish, And we're filed on our last little shelves, H-11 ^^'°" ^^" "^"^ *^« 'listed Will send us as good as ourselves r- L J , (Good men I), *ive hundred as good as ourselves! »24 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Then a health (we must drink it in whispers), To our wholly unauthorized horde — To the line of our dusty foreloopers, The Gentlemen Rovers abroad — Yes, a health to ourselves ere we scatter, Kor the steamer won't wait for the train. And the Legion that never was 'listed Goes back into quarters again 'Regards! Goes back under canvas again. Hurrah! The swag and the billy again Here's how! The trail and the packhorse again. Salue! The trek and the lager again ! THE IRISH GUARDS i: I 9 I 8 ■y^E'RE not so old in the Arjny List, But we're not so young at our trade, I'or we had the honour at Kontenoy Of meeting the Guards' Brigade. 'Twas Lally, Dillon, Bulkeley, Clare, And Lee that led us then. And after a hundred and seventy years We're fighting for France again! Old Days ! The wild geese are flighting. Head to the storm as they faced it before ! For where there are Irish there's bound to be fighting, .Ind when there's no fighting, it's Ireland no more ! Ireland no more t INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 225 The fashion's all for khaki now, But once through France we went I'ull-dressed in scarlet Army cloth, The English— left at Ghent. I hey re fighting on our side to-ilay TU^'u 7^ '*"">■ ^^^"S^'^ '•'='■• 'Clothes, 1 he half of Europe knew our fame, As all of Ireland knows! O/JDays ! The wild geese are flying, tin... 10 the storm as they faced it before ' ^nd when we forget, it is Ireland no more ! Ireland no more ! iTotn Barry Wood to Gouzerucourt I'rom Boyne to Pilkem Ridge, i lie ancient days come back no more i han water under the bridge But the bndge it stands and the water runs As red as yesterday, ■And the Irish move to the sound of the guns Like salmon to the sea Old Days ! The wild geese are ranging. Head to the storm as they faced it before ' IdZ "'Zl "" ^""' ""•' ''"•''' «'•'' ""changin., And when they are changed, it is Ireland no more] Ireland no more . \\e're not so old in the Army List, But we're not so new in the ring I'or we carried our packs with Marshal Saxe >> hen Louis was our King. But Douglas Haig's our Marshal now And we re King George's men, i" in 1 f 226 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE And after one hundred and seventy years We're fighting for France again! y//i, France ! And did we stand by you. When life was made splendid with j^ifts and rewards ? Ah, France ! And will wc deny you In the hour of your agony. Mother of Swords? Old Days ! The wild geese are flighting. Head to the storm as they faced it before I For where there are Irish there's loving and fighting. And when we stop either, it's Ireland no more I Ireland no more I PHARAOH AND THE SERGEANT I 897 " . . . Consider that the meritorious services of the Serjeant Instructors attached to the Egyptian Army have been inadequately acl:noviledged. . . . To the excellence of [heir worle is mainly due the great improvement that has taken place in the soldiers of H.H. the Khedive. " Extract from Letter. CAID England unto Pharaoh, "I must make a man of you, That will stand upon his feet and play the game; That will Maxim his oppressor as a Christian ought to do," And she sent old Pharaoh Sergeant Whatisname. It was not a Duke nor Earl, nor yet a ^ijcount — It was not a big brass General that came; But a man in khaki kit who could handle men a bit, With his bedding labelled Sergeant Whatisname. Said England unto Pharaoh, "Though at present singing small, You shall hum a proper tune before it ends," And she introduced old Pharaoh to the Sergeant once for all. And left 'em in the desert making friends. -b INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 227 It was not .1 Crystal Palace nor Cathedral; It was not a public-house of common fame; But a piece or' red-hot sand, with a palm on either hand, And a little hut for Sergeant Whatisnamc. Said England unto Pharaoh, "You've had miracles before, When Aaron struck your rivers into blood; But if you watch the Sergeant he can show vou something more. He's a charm for making riflemen from mud." It was neither Hindustani, French, nor Coptics; It was odds and ends and leavings of the same. Translated by a stick (which is really half the trick), .And Pharaoh harked to Sergeant Whatisname. (There were years that no one talked of; there were times of horrid doubt — There was faith and hope and whacking and despair- While the Sergeant gave the Cautions and he combed old Pharaoh out. And England didn't seem to know nor care. That is England's awful way o' doing business- She would serve her God (or Gordon) just the same— For she thinks her Empire still is the Strand and Hol- born Hill, And she didn't think of Sergeant Whatisname.) Said England to the Sergeant, "You can let my people go!" (England used 'em cheap and nasty from the start), And they entered 'em in battle on a most astonished foe— But the Sergeant he had hardened Pharaoh's heart Which was broke, along of all the plagues of Egypt, Three thousand years before the Sergeant came — And he mended it again in a little more than ten. Till Pharaoh fought like Sergeant Whatisname. 228 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE It was wicked bad campaigning (cheap and nastv from the first), There was heat and dust and coolie-work and sun, There were vipers, flies, and sandstorms, there was cholera and thirst, But Pharaoh done the best he ever done. Down the desert, down the railway, down the river. Like Israelites .rom bondage so he came, 'Tween the clouds o' dust and fire to the land of his desire. And his Moses, it was Sergeant Whatisname! We are eating dirt in handfuls for to save our daily bread, Which we have to buy from those that hate us most. And we must not raise the money where the Sergeant raised the dead, And it's wrong and bad and dangerous to boast. But he did it on the cheap and on the quiet, .And he's not allowed to forward any claim — Though he drilled a black man white, though he made a mummy fight, He will still continue Sergeant Whatisname— Private, Corporal, Colour-Sergeant, and Instructor^ But the everlasting miracle's the same! i!i THE LAST OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE I S 9 I 'pHERE were thirty million English who talked of Eng- land's might, There were twenty broken troopers who lacked a bed for the night. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 21^, They had neither food nor money, they had neither service nor trade; The> were only shiftless soldiers, the last of the Light Brigade. They felt that life was fleeting; thev knew not that art was long, That though they were dying of famine, thev lived in death- less song. They asked for a little money to keep the wolf from the door- And the thirty million English sent twenty pounds and four! They laid their heads together that were scarred and lined and gray; Keen were the Russian sabres, but want was keener than they; And an old troop sergeant muttered, "Let us go to the man who writes The things on Balaclava the kiddies at school recites." They went without bands or colours, a regiment ten-file strong. To look for the Master-singer who had crowned them all in his song; And, waiting his servant's order, bv the garden gate thev stayed, A desolate little cluster, the last of the Light Brigade. They strove to stand to attention, to straighten the toil- bowed back; They drilled on an empty stomach, the loose-knit files fell slack; With stooping of weary shoulders, in garments tattered and frayed. They shambled into his presence, the last of the Light Bri- gade. ^ I i 1l 230 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE The old troop sergeant was spokesman, and "Beggin' your pardon," he said, "You wrote o' the Light Brigade, sir. Here's all that isn't dead. An" it's all come true what you wrote, sir, regardin' the mouth of hell; For we're all of us nigh to the workhouse, an' we thought we'd call an' tell. "No, thank you, we don't want food, sir; but couldn't you take an' write .\ sort of 'to be continued' and 'see next page' o' the fight? We think that someone has blundered, an' couldn't you tell 'em how? You wrote we were heroes once, sir. Please, write we are starving now." The poor little army departed, limping and lean and forlorn. And the heart of the Master-singer grew hot with "the scorn of scorn." ."^nd he wrote for them wonderful verses that swept the land like flame. Till the fatted souls of the English were scourged with the thing called Shame. O thirty million Englii , that babble of England's might, Behold there are twenty heroes who lack thei ■ food to-night; Our children's children are lisping to "honour the charge they made — " And we leave to the streets and the workhouse the charge of the Light Brigade! INCLUSIVE EDITION 1885-1918 231 KITCHENKRS SCHOOL 1898 Being a truns/ation c/ the long Ihul ivas made by a Mohammedan ichoot. mauer a/ 8eng,il Infantry {some time on service at Suakim) when he heard that Kitchener wal taking money from tk: Engliih to iui/d a Madrissa far Hull- iheei — or a college for the Sudanese, QH HUBSHFF., carry your shoes in your hand ami bow your head on your breast! This is the message of Kitchener who did not break you in jest. It was permitted to him to fulfil the long-appointed years; Reaching the end ordained of old over your dead Kmirs. He stamped only before your walls, and the Tomb ye knew was dust: He gathered up under his armpits all the swords of your trust: He set a guard on your granaries, securing the weak from the strong: He said: — "Go work the waterwheels that were abolished so long." He said: — "Go safely, being abased. I have accomplished my vow." That was the mercy of Kitchener. Cometh his madness now! He does not desire as ye desire, nor devise as ye devise: He is preparing a second host — an army to make you wise. Not at the mouth of his clean-lipped guns shall ye learn his name again, But letter by letter, from Kaf to Kaf, at the mouths of his chosen men. iii RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE He has gone back to his own city, not seeking presents or bribes, But openly asking the Knglish for money to buy you Hakims and scribes. Knowing that ye are forfeit by battle and have no right ti) live. He begs for money to bring you learning— and all the Eng- lish give. It is their treasure — it is thcii- pleasure— thus are their hearts inclined; For Allah created the English mad— the maddest of all mankind! They do not consider the Meaning of Things; they consult not creed nor clan. Behold, they clap the slave on the back, and behold, he ariscth a man! They terribly carpet the earth with dead, and before their cannon cool. They walk unarmed by twos and threes to call the living to school. How is this reason (which is their reason) to judge a scholar's worth. By casting a ball at three straight sticks and defending the same with a fourth? But this they do (which is doubtless a spell) and other matters more strange, Until, by the operation of years, the hearts of their scholars change: Till these make come and go great boats or engines upon the rail (But always the English watch near by to prop them when they fail); INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 23., Till these make laws of their own ih-.ice and Judges of their own blood; And all the mad English obey the Judges an.l sav that that Law IS good. Certainly they were mad fro,:i . fold; but I think one new thing, That the magic whereby they work their magic -wherefrom their fortunes spring — May be that they show all peoples their mngic and ask no price in return. Wherefore, since ye are bond to that magic, O Hubshee, make haste and learn! Certainly al.so is Kitchener mad. But one sure thing I know— " If he who broke you be minded to teach vou, to his Madrissa go! Go, and carry your shoes in your hand and bow your head on your breast, For he who did not slay you in sport, he will not teach you in jest. ' LORD ROBERTS I 9 I 4 fJE passed in the very battle-smoke Of the war that he had descried. Three hundred mile of cannon spoke When the Master-Gunner died. He passed to the very sound of the guns; But, before his eye grew dim. He had seen the faces of the sons Whose sires had served with him. ""«^'.7 ■wr.'C.mvmrm. Ill 234 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE He had touched their sword-hilts and greeted each With the old sure word of praise; And there was virtue in touch and speech As it had been in old days. So he dismissed them and took his rest, And the steadfast spirit went forth Between the adoring East and West And the tireless guns of the North. Clean, simple, valiant, well-beloved. Flawless in faith and fame. Whom neither ease nor honours moved An hair's-breadth from his aim. Never again the war-wise face. The weighed and urgent word That pleaded in the market-place — Pleaded and was not heard ! Yet from his life a new life springs Through all the hosts to come. And Glory is the least of things That follow this man home. BRIDGE-GUARD IN THE KARROO I 9 o I " • ; ■ <""i ^'11 'Uppfy Jiliih 10 guard Iht Bkod Rim BriJgi : District Orders— Lines of Communication. South African War. gUDDEN the desert changes, The raw glare softens and clings. Till the aching Oudtshoorn ranges Stand up like the thrones of Kings — i INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 Ramparts of slaughter and peril — Blazing, amazing, aglow — 'Twixt the sky-line's belting beryl And the wine-dark flats below. Royal the pageant closes, Lit by the last of the sun — Opal and ash-of-roses, Cinnamon, umber, and dun. The twilight swallows the thicket. The starlight reveals the ridge. The whistle shrills to the picket — We are changing guard on the bridge. (Few, forgotten and ' >nely, Where the empty metals shine — No, not combatants — only Details guarding the line.) We slip through the broken panel Of fence by the ganger's shed; We drop to the waterless channel And the lean track overhead; 235 We stumble on refuse of rations, The beef and the biscuit-tins; We take our appointed stations, And the endless night begins. We hear the Hottentot herders As the sheep click past to the fold— And the click of the restless girders As the steel contracts in the cold — 236 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Voices of jackals calling And, loud in the hush between, A morsel of dry earth falling From the flanks of the scarred ravine. And the solemn firmament marches, And the hosts of heaven rise Framed through the iron arches — Banded and barred by the ties, Till we feel the far track humming. And we see her headlight plain, And we gather and wait her coming — The wonderful north-bound train. J lill'f I Hi (Few, forgotten and lonely. Where the white car-windows shine- No, not combatants — only Details guarding the line.) Quick, ere the gift escape us! Out of the darkness we reach For a handful of week-old papers .^nd a mouthful of human speech. And the monstrous heaven rejoices, .4nd the earth allows again, .Meetings, greetings, and voices Of women talking with men. So we return to our places, .^s out on the bridge she rolls; .And the darkness covers our faces, .'\nd the darkness re-enters our souls INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 More than a little lonely Where the lessening tail-lights shine. No — not combatants — only Details guarding the line! 237 SOUTH AFRICA I 903 J^IVED a woman wonderful, (May the Lord amend her!) Neither simple, kind, nor true, But her Pagan beauty drew Christian gentlemen a few Hotly to attend her. Christiatt gentlemen a few From Berwick unto Dover; For she was South Africa, And she was South Africa, She was Our South Africa, Africa all over ! Half her land was dead with drouth, Half was red with battle; She was fenced with fire and sword Plague on pestilence outpoured, Locusts on the greening sward .'\nd murrain on the cattle! True, ah true, and overtrue. That is why we love her ! For she is South Africa, And she is South Africa, She is Our South Africa, Africa all over ! V • \ J38 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE ' Bitter hard her lovers toiled, Scandalous their payment, — ! Food forgot on trains derailed; j Cattle-dung where fuel failed; ) Water where the mules had staled; j And sackcloth for their raiment! So she filled their mouths with dust I And their bones with fever; , Greeted them with cruel lies; I Treated them despiteful-wise; Meted them calamities Till they vowed to leave her! f They took ship and they took sail, Raging, from her borders— In a little, none the less. They forgat their sore duresse. They forgave her waywardness And returned for orders! They esteemed her favour more Than a Throne's foundation. For the glory of hej- face Bade farewell to breed and race — Yea, and made their burial-place Altar of a Nation! Wherefore, being bought by blood, And by blood restored To the arms that nearly lost. She, because of all she cost. Stands, a very woman, most ^erfect and adored! INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 On yourjeet, and let them know This is why we love her ! For she is South Africa, She is Our South Africa, Is Our Own South Africa, Africa all over ! 239 THE BURIAL 1902 (C. J. Rhodes, buried in the Maloppos, April lo, 190J) ^^HEN that great Kings return to clay, Or Emperors in their pride. Grief of a day shall fill a day. Because its creature died. But we — we reckon not with those Whom the mere Fates ordain, This Power that wrought on us and goes Back to the Power again. Dreamer devout, by vision led Beyond our guess or reach. The travail of his spirit bred Cities in place of speech. So huge the all-mastering thought that drove — So brief the term allowed — Nations, not words, he linked to prove His faith before the crowd. It is his will that he look forth Across the world he won — The granite of the ancient North — Great spaces washed with sun. \h 240 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE There shall he patient take his seat (As when the Death he dared), And there await a people's feet In the paths that he prepared. There, till the vision he foresaw Splendid and whole arise. And unimagined Empires draw To council 'neath his skies. The immense and brooding Spirit still Shall quicken and control. Living he was the land, and dead, His soul shall be her soul! THINGS AND THE MAN (in MEMORIAM, JOSEPH CHAMBERLAIN) I 904 ' And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren and they hated him yet the more." — Genesis xxxvii. 5. QH YE who hold the written clue To all save all unwritten things. And, half a league behind, pursue The accomplished Fact with flouts and flings, Look! To your knee your baby brings The oldest tale since Earth began — The answer to your worryings: "Once on a time there was a Man." INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 He, single-handed, met and slew Magicians, Armies, Ogres, Kings. He lonely mid his doubting crew— "In all the loneliness of wings "— He fed the flame, he filled the springs. He locked the ranks, he launched the van Ntraight at the grinning Teeth of Things. Once on a time there was a Man." The peace of shocked Foundations flew Before his ribald questionings. He broke the Oracles in two, And bared the paltry wires and strings. He headed desert wanderings; He led his soul, his cause, his clan A little from the ruck of Things. "Once on a time there was a Man" Thrones, Powers, Dominions block the view With episodes and underlings— The meek historian deems them true Nor heeds the song that Clio sings— I he simple central truth that stings The mob to boo, the priest to ban; rhtngs never yet created things— "Once on a time there was a Man." A bolt is fallen from the blue. A wakened realm full circle swings Where Dothan's dreamer dreams anew Of vast and farborne harvestings; And unto him an Empire clings That grips the purpose of his plan. My Lords, how think you of these things.' Once— in our time— is there a Man ? 241 242 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE THE SETTLER ' 9°3 (South J/rican IVar enJeJ, May, 1901) T-JERE, where my fresh-turned furrows run, And the deep soil glistens red, I will repair the wrong that was done To the living and the dead. Here, where the senseless bullet fell. And the barren shrapnel burst, I will plant a tree, I will dig a well, Against the heat and the thirst. Here, in a large and a sunlit land. Where no wrong bites to the bone, I will lay my hand in my neighbour's hand, And together we will atone For the set folly and the red breach And the black waste of it all; Giving and taking counsel each Over the cattle-krad. Here will we join against our foes — The hailstroke and the storm, And the red and rustling cloud that blows The locusf's mile-deep swarm. Frost and murrain and floods let loose Shall launch us side by side In the holy wars that have no truce 'Twixt seed and harvest-tide. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 Earth, where we rode to slay or be slain, Our love shall redeem unto life. We will gather and lead to her lips again The waters of ancient strife, Krom the far and fiercely guarded streams And the pools where we lay in wait. Till the corn cover our evil dreams And the young corn our hate. And when we bung old fights to mind. We will not remember the sin— If there be blood on his head of my kind, Or blood on my head of his kin— For the ungrazed upland, the untitled lea _ Cry, and the fields forlorn: "The dead must bury their dead, but ye— Ye serve an host unborn." Bless then. Our God, the new-yoked plough And the good beasts that draw. And the bread we eat in the sweat of our brow According to Thy Law. After us cometh a multitude — Prosper the work of our hands. That we may feed with our land's food The folk of all our lands! i« ^«?L '" '"l^ ^^''^^ ^"'* '•'^ troughs of the plains. Where the healmg stillness lies, And the vast, benignant sky restrains And the long days make wise — Bless to our use the rain and the sun And the blind seed in its bed, That we may repair the wrong that was done To the living and the dead! U4 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE SUSSEX 1902 QOD gave all men all earth to love, But since our hearts are small, Ordained for each one spot should prove Beloved over all; That, as He watched Creation's birth, So we, in godlike mood, May of our love create our earth And see that it is good. So one shall Baltic pines content, As one some Surrey glade. Or one the palm-grove's droned lament Before Levuka's Trade. Each to his choice, and I rejoice The lot has fallen to me In a fair ground — in a fair ground — Yea, Sussex by the sea! No tender-hearted ga^-den crowns. No bosomed woods adorn Our blunt, bow-headed, whale-backed Downs, But gnarled and writhen thorn- Bare slopes where chasing shadows skim. And, through the gaps revealed. Belt upon belt, the wooded, dim. Blue goodness of the Weald. Clean of officious fence or hedge, Half-wild and wholly tame, The wise turf cloaks the white cliflF edge As when the Romans came. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 What sign of those that fought and dkil At shift of sword and sword? The barrow and the car'ip abide, The sunlight and the sward. Here leaps ashore the full Sou 'west All heavy-winged with brine, Here lies above the folded crest The Channel's le-den line; And here the sea-fogs lap and cling, And here, each warning each. The sheep-bells and the ship-bells ring Along the hidden beach. We have no waters to delight Our broad and brookless vales — Only the dewpond im the height Unfed, that never fails — Whereby no tattered herbage tells Which way the season flies — Only our close-bit thyme that smells Like dawn in Paradise. Here through the strong and shadeless days The tinkling silence thrills; Or little, lost, Di wn churches praise The Lord who made the hills: But here the Old Gods guard their round, And, in her secret heart. The heathen kingdom Wilfrid found Dreams, as she dwells, apart. Though all the rest were all my share. With equal soul I'd see Her nine-and-thirty sisters fair. Yet none more fair than she. Hi SI In I It liiiiii t H6 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Choose ye your need from Thames to Tweed, And I will choose instead Such lands as lie 'twixt Rake and Rye, Black Down and Beachy Head I will go out against the sun Where the rolled scarp retires. And the Long Man of Wilmington Looks naked toward the shires; And east till doubling Rother crawls To find the fickle tide, By dry and sea-forgotten walls, Our ports of stranded pride. I will go north about the shaws And the deep ghylls that breed Huge oaks and old, the which we hold No more than Sussex weed; Or south where windy Piddinghoe's Begildcd dolphin veers And red beside wide-bankiid Ouse Lie down our Sussex steers. So to the land our hearts we give Till the sure magic strike. And Memory, Use, and Love make live Us and our fields alike — • That deeper than our speech and thought. Beyond our reason's sway, Clay of the pit whence we were wrought Yearns to its fellow-clay. God gives all men all earth to love, But since man's heart is small. Ordains for each one spot shall prove Beloved over all INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 Each to his choice, itiul I rejoice The lot hat J alien to mc In a fair ground— in a J air ground- Yea, Sussex iy the sea! '47 MY BOV J\t K 1914-1 II J-JAVE you news of my boy Jack'" Not this tide. "When d'you think that he'll come back?' Not with this wind blowing, and this tide. "Has any one else had word of him?" Not this tide. For what is sunk will hardly swim. Not with this wind blowing, and this tide. ^ "Oh, dear, what comfort can I find?" None this tide. Nor any tide. Except he did not shame his kind— Not even with that wind blowing, and that tide. Then hold your head up all the more. This tide. And every tide; Because he was the son you bore, And gave to that wind blowing and that tide ! 248 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE A NATIVITY I 9 I 4 - I 8 "J^HE Babe was laid in, the Manger Between the gentle kine — M safe from cold and danger— "But it was not so with mine, (With mine! With mine!) "Is it well with the child, is it well?" The waiting mother prayed. "For I know not how he fell. And I know not where he is laid." A Star stood forth in Heaven; The IVatchers ran to see The Sign of the Promise given — "But there comes no sign to me. (To me! To me!) "My child died in the dark. Is it well with the child, is it well? There was none to tend him or mark, And I know not how he fell." The Cross was raised on high; The Mother grieved beside — "But the Mother saw Him die And took Him when He died. (He died! He died!) "Seemly and undefiled His burial-place was made — Is it well, is it well with the child? For I know not where he is laid." INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 On the dawning of Easter Day Comes Mary Magdalene; But the Stone was rolled away. And the Body was not within •■at, 1, •„ (Within! Within!) Ah, who will answer my word? ^^ The broken mother prayed. "They have taken away my Lord, And I know not where He is laid." " The Star stands Jorth in Heaven. The Watchers watch in vain For Sign of the Promise given 0/ peace on Earth again— ..D Ti r (Again! .Again!) But I know for Whom he {J\ "— __ The steadfast mother smiled, "Is it well with the child— is it well? It is well— it is well with the child!" »49 DIRGE OF DEAD SISTERS I 9 O 2 (For the Nursii who died in the South African IVar) WHO recalls the twilight and the rangM tents in order And thlVl?nl ''r "P''^'"* '''™"e'^ "^^ "y^'^-' "ening air:) And the faces of the Sisters with the dust upon their hai,-.= r^ow and not hereafter, ere the meaner vears go b^- Let us now remember many honourable women, ' Such as bade us turn again when we were like to die.) 250 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE ■ ; ^ I- 111:1 IP Who recalls the morning and the thunder through the foot- hills (Tufts of fleecy shrapnel strung along the empty plains?) And the sun-scarred Red-Cross coaches creeping guarded to the culvert, And the faces of the Sisters looking gravely from the trains ? (When the days were torment and the nights were clouded terror, When the Powers of Darkness had dominion on our soul — When we fled consuming through the Seven Hells of Fever, These put out their hands to us and healed and made us whole.) Who recalls the midnight by the bridge's wrecked abutment (Autumn rain that rattled like a Maxim on the tin?) And the lightning-dazzled levels and the streaming, straining wagons, And the faces of the Sisters as they bore the wounded in? (Till the pain was merciful and stunned us into silence — When each nerve cried out on God that made the misused clay; When the Body triumphed and the last poor shame de- parted— These abode our agonies and wiped the sweat away.) Who recalls the noontide and the funerals through the market (Blanket-hidden bodies, flagless, followed by the flies?) And the footsore firing-party, and the dust and stench and staleness. And the faces of the Sisters and the glory in their eyes? (Bold behind the battle, in the open camp all-hallowed, Patient, wise, and mirthful in the ringed and reeking town, These endured unresting till they rested from their labours — Little wasted bodies, ah, so light to lower downH INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 251 Yet their graves are scattered and their names are clean for- gotten, Earth shall not remember, but the Waiting Angel knows Them that died at Uitvlugt when the plague was on the city— Her that fell at Simon's Town in service on our foes. Wherefore we they ransomed, while the breath is in our nostrils, Now and not hereafter — ere the meaner years go by — Praise with love and worship many honourable women. Those that gave their lives for us when we were like to die ! THE VAMPIRE I 897 ^ FOOL there was and he made his prayer (Even as you and I!) ^'o a rag and a bone and a hank of hair (We called her the woman who did not care) But the Ux)\ he called her his ladv fair — (Even as you and II) Oh, the years -xe waste and the tears we waste And the work of our head and hand Belong to the woman -xho did not know {And now we know that she never could know) And did not understand '. A fool there was and his goods he spent (Even as you and I!) Honour and faith and a sure intent (And it wasn't the least what the lady meant) But a fs the I lag of England ? Winds ofihe World, declare ! '"'' """^tZ'so; '''^"'^-'■'^-'" B-g- -y steel-shod van- " I chase your lazy whalers home from the Disko floe. By the great North Lights above me I work the will of God And t^he^hner sphts on the ice-field-or the Dogger fills wl' "' ^"Zi^J ^"'' ^"'' '"""' ' ^''""ered my doors with ■'fuZV°^°'l ""^ u''"'P"" >°"'- """hell navies came. my blast". '''■"'"''' ' ™' '^"" ''°*" '''^^ "And they died, but the Flag of England blew free ere th- spirit passed. " ^^' nTg"htl'''" *"" '""'' '''" '' '" '•'" '""^' '""^^ •'^^'•""'^ '^'" LStf^ ''"°"" '*" "'"'''""^' '''*■" """'' ^''^ ^'""''ern ^^'""darj,'" ^^^ °^ '^"^'''"''- '^^ '"'^'^ ''"' "'>■ ''^^g' '" "^' ''there'^"' '"'' '^"^"' '" """''""• ^'^ f"'"'!'. for it is The South Wind sighed:-" From the Virgins mv mid-sea course was ta en - "Over a thousand islands lost in an idle main Where the sea-egg flames on the coral and the lona-backed breakers croon =■ ""■'^'^" "Their endless ocean legends to the lazy, locked layoo,,. TT..-j;> aS4 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE "Strayed amid lonely islets, mazed amid outer kcvs, "I waked the palms to laughter — I tossed the scud in the breeze. "Never was isle so little, never was sea so lone, " But over the scud and the palm-trees an English flag was flown. "I have wrenched it free from the halliards to hang for a wisp on the Horn; " I have chased it north to the Lizard — ribboned and rolled and torn; "I have spread its fold o'er the dying, adrift in a hopeless sea; "I have hurled it swift on the slaver, and seen the slave set free. fii " My basking sunfish know it, and wheeling albatross, "Where the lone wave fills with fire beneath the Southern Cross. "What is the Flag of England? Ye have but my reefs to dare, "Ye have but my seas to furrow. Go forth, for it is there!" The East Wind roared: — "I'Vom the Kuriles, the Bitter Seas, I come, "And me men call the HomeAVind, fur I bring the English home. "Look — look well to your shipping! By breath of my mad typhoon " I swept your close-packed Praya and beached your best at Kowloon ! "T.'le reeling junks behind me and the racing seas before, "I raped your richest roadstead — I plundered Singapore! " I set my hand on the Hoogli; as a hooded snake she rose; ".\nd I flung your stouttst steamers to roost with the startled crnv.-. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 255 "Never the lotos closes, never the wild-fowl wake, " But a soul goes out on the East Wind that died for Eng- land's sake — "Man or woman or suckling, mother or bride or maid — ' Because on the bones of the English the English Flag is stayed. 'The desert-dust hath dimmed it, the flying wild-ass knows, 'The scared white leopard winds it across the taintless snows. 'What is the Flag of England.' Ye have but my sun to dare, 'Ye have but my sands to travel. Go forth, for it is there!" The West Wind called;— "In squadrons the thoughtless galleons fly "That bear the wheat and cattle lest street-bred people die. "They make my might their porter, they make my house their path, "Till 1 loose my neck from their rudder and whelm them all in mv wrath. ' I draw the gliding fog-bank as a snake is drawn from the hole, 'They bellow one to the other, the frighted shi[i-bells toll, 'For day is a drifting terror till I raise the shroud with my breath, '.And they see strange bows above them and the two go locked to death. 'But whether in calm or wrack-wreath, whether bv dark or day, '1 heave them »hole ti> the confer or ri|> their plates away, 'First of the scattered legions, under a shrieking sky, 'Dippmg between the rollers, -he F.nglish I'lag goes bv. 256 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE "The dr^d dumb fog hath wrapped it— the frozen dews have kissed — "The naked stars have seen it, a fellow-star in the mist. ' What is the Flag of England ? Ye have, but my breath to dare, "Ye have but my waves to conquer. Go forth, for it is there!" THE DEAD KING (EDWARD Vir.) 1 g I o J^HO in the Realm to-day lays down dear life for the sake of a land more dear ? And, unconcerned for his own estate, toils till the last grudged sands have run ? Let him approach. It is proven here Our King asks nothing of any man more than Our King himself has done. ■ If ■ For to him above all was Life good, above all he commanded Her abundance full-handed. The peculiar treasure of Kings was his for the taking: All that men come to in dreams he inherited waking: His marvel of world-gathered armies— one heart and all races; His seas 'neath his keels when his war-castles foamed to their places; The thundering foreshores that answered his heralded land- ing; The huge lighted cities adoring, the as.semblies upstanding; \.mM j^^ INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 257 The Councils of Kings called in haste to learn how he was minded — The Kingdoms, the Powers, and the Glories lie dealt with unbllnded. To him came all captains of men, all achievers of glorv Hot from the press of their battles they told him their storv.' I hey revealed him their lives in an hour and, saluting lic- parted, " Joyful to labour af-esh— he had made them new-hearted And, since he wciiji.ed men from his youth, and no lie long deceived him. He spoke and exacted the truth, and the basest believed him. And God poured him an exquisite wine, that was daily re- newed to him. In the clear-welling love of his peoples that dailv accrued to him. Honour and service we gave him, rejoicingly fearless- Faith absolute, trust beyond speech and a'friendship as peer- less. ' And since he was Master and Servant in all that we asked him. We leaned hard on his wisdom in all things, knowing not how we tasked him. For on him each new day laid command, every tyrannous hour. To confront, or confirm, or make smooth some dread issue of power; To deliver true judgment aright at the instant, unaided In the strict, level, ultimate phrase that allowed or dissuaded- lo foresee, to allay, to avert from us perils unnumbered. To stand guard on our gates when he guessed that the watch- men had slumbered; To win time, to turn hate, to woo folly to service and, mightily schooling His strength to the use of his Nations, to rule as not rulim;. ;;« RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE These were the works of our King; Earth's peace was the proof of them. Ood gave him greatworks to fulfil, and to us the behoof of them. We accepted his toil as our right— none spared, none excused him. VVhen he was bowed by his burden his rest was refused him. We troubled his age with our weakness— the blacker our shame to us! Hearing his People had need of him, straightway he came to us. As he received so he gave— nothing grudged, naught denying. Not even the last gasp of his breath when he strove for us, dying. For our sakes, without question, he put from him all that he cherished. Simply as any that serve him he served and he perished. All that Kings covet was his, and he flung it aside for us. Simply as any that die in his service he died for us! If ho in the Rea/m to-day has choice oj the easy road or the hard to tread ? And, much concerned Jor his own estate, would sell his soul to remain in the sun ? Let him depart nor look on Our dead. Our King asks nothing of any man more than Our King him- self has done. WHEN EARTH'S LAST PICTURE IS PAINTED 1892 ■Y^HEN Earth's last picture is painted and the tubes are twisted and dried. When the oldest colours have faded, and the youngest critic has died. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 188&-l;:18 2^7 VV ■ shall rest, and, faith, wc shall need it-lie down for an Kon or two, Till -he Ma-er of All Goo.i Workmen shall put us to work anew. And those that were good shall be happy: rhev shall sit in a golden chair; They shall splash at a ten-league canvas with brushes of comets hair. They shall find real saints to draw from-Maedalene Peter and Paul; ' They shall work for an age at a sitting and never be tired at '^"'' ""sLlWame"" ''"'" ^''"' "'' ""'^ ""'^ '*"•■ '^'''"" And no one shall work for money, and no one shall work for But each^fo; the joy of the working, and each, in his separate Shall draw the^Thing as he sees It for the God of Things as "CLEARED" 1890 (In mimory of lie Parntll Commitsioti) fJELP for a patriot distressed, a spotless spirit hurt Help for an honourable clan sore trampled in the dirt ' From Queenstown Bay to Donegal, Oh listen to my son., ' 1 he honourable gentlemen have suffered grievous wrong MICTOCOPY «E50lUIION TEST CHART lANSI ond ISO TEST CHART N„ 2, !.0 Ifia m I.I I ^ m 11.25 1.8 1.6 M APPLIED IIVHGE 'fi^i Cosl Mam 5lreei 26o RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Their noble names were mentioned — Oh the burning black disgrace! — By a brutal Saxon paper in an Irish shooting-case; They sat upon it for a year, then steeled their heart to brave it, And "coruscating innocence" the learned Judges gave it. Bear witness. Heaven, of that grim crime beneath the sur- geon s knife. The "honourable gentlemen" deplored the loss of life! Bear witness of those chanting choirs that burk and shirk and snigger, No man laid hand upon the knife or finger to the triyger! Cleared in the face of all mankind beneath the winking skies. Like ph(fnixes from Pha-nix Park (and what lay there) they rise! Go shout it to the emerald seas — give word to Erin now. Her honourable gentlemen are clearcil -and this is how: — They only paid the Moonlighter his cattle-hocking price. They only helped the murderer with counsel's best advice, But — sure it keeps their honour white— the learned Court believes They never give a piece of plate to murderers and thieves. They never told the ramping crowd to card a woman's hide, They never marked a man for death— what fault of theirs he died ? — They only said "intimidate," and talked and went awav-- By God, the boys that diii the work were braver men than they! Their sin it was that fed the fire— small blame to them that heard — The boys get drunk on rhetoric, and madden at a word — INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 j6i hey knew whom they were calking at, if they were Irish too he gentlemen that lied in Court, they knew, and well thev knev.- ! ' They only took the Judas-gold from Kenians out of jail (hey only fawned for dollars on the blood-dved Clan-na- Uael. If black is black or white is white, in black and white it's down, They're only traitors to the (Jueen and rebels to the Crown. "Cleared," honourable gentlemen! Be thankful it's no more: — The widow's curse is on your house, the dead are at vour door. ' On you the shame of open shame; on vou from North to South 1 he hand of every honest man flat-heeled across your mouth. •■Less black than we were painted"?-Kaith, no word of black was said; The lightest touch was human blood, and that, you know runs red. ' It's sticking to your fist to-day tor all vour sneer and scoff And by the Judge s well-weighed word you cannot wipe it off. Hold up those hands of innocence— go, scare your sheep together, '^ The blundering, tripping tups that bleat behind the old bell- wether; And if theysnufF the taint and break to find another pen Tell them it s tar that glistens so, and daub them yours again ! nil 262 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE "The charge is old " ?— As old as Cain— as fresh as yesterday; Old as the Ten Commandments— have ye talked those laws away? If words are words, or death is death, or powder sends the ball, You spoke the words that sped the shot— the curse be on you all. "Our friends believe"? Of course they do— as sheltered women may; But have they seen the shrieking soul ripped from the quiver. ing clay? They! — If their own front door is shut, they'll swear the whole world's warm; What do they know of dread of death or hangingfear of harm? The secret half a county keeps, the whisper in the lane. The shriek that tells the shot went home behind the broken pane. The dry blood crisping in the sun that scares the honest bees, And shows the boys have he^ird your talk— what do they know of these? But you — you know — ay, ten times more; the secrets of the dead, Black terror on the country-side by word and whisper bred, The mangled stallion's scream at night, the tail-cropped heifer's low. Who set the whisper going first? You know, and well you know! INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 2^,3 My soul! ra scK.ner lie in jail for murder plain ami str.-ight Hure crime I'd dene with my own hand for money, lust or hate Than take a scat in I'arliament by fellow-felons cheered "h.le one of those "not provens" proved me cleared as vou are cleared. Cleared-you that "lost" the League accounts-go, guard our honour still, Go, help to make our country's laws that broke God's law at will— One hand stuck out behind the back, to signal "strilce again'' • I he other on your dress-shirt-front to show your hjart is clane. If black is black or white is white, in black and white it's down. You're only traitors to the Queen and rebels to the Crow,- It prmt is prmt or words are words, the learned Court per- pends : — ' We are n'- ruled by murderers, but only—by their friends. THE BALLAD OF THE RED EARL I 8 9 I (It Is not for them to criticize too minutely the methods the Irish foliowej, hough they m.ght deplore some of thcir results. During the past few years Ireland had been going throuj;!, what was tantanwunt to a revolution.- tARL bl'EN-CEK) J^ED E.'XRL, and will ye take for guide The silly camel-birds. That ye bury your head in an Irish thorn. On a desert of drifting words: 264 RUDYARD KIPLING S VERSE Ye have followed a n;an for a God, Red Earl, As the Lord o' Wrong and Right; But the day is d( ne with the setting sun — Will ye follow into the night? He gave you your own old words, Red Earl, For food on the wastrel way; Will ye rise and eat in the night, Red Earl, That fed so full in the day? Ye have followed fast, ye have followed far. And where did the wandering lead? From the day that ye praised the spoken word To the day ye must gloss the deed. And as ye have given your hand for gain. So must ye give in loss; And as ye ha' come to the brink of the pit, So must ye loup across. For some be rogues in grain. Red Earl, And some be rogues in fact, An : rogues direct and rogues elect; But all be rogues in pact. Ye have cast your lot" with these, Red Earl; Take heed to where ye stand. Ye have tied a knot with your tongue. Red Earl, That ye cannot loose with your hand. Ye have travelled fast, ye have travelled far. In the grip of a tightening tether, Till ye find at the end ye must take for friend The quick and their dead together. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 Ye have played with the Law between your lips, And mouthed it daintilce; But the gist o' the speech is ill to teach, For ye say: "Let wrong go free." 265 Red Earl, ye wear the Garter fair, And gat your place from a King: Do ye make Rebellion of no account. And Treason a little thing? Anrl have ye weighed your words. Red Earl, That stand and speak so high ? And is it good that the guilt o' blood. Be cleared at the cost of a sigh? And is it well for the sake of peace. Our tattered Honour to sell. And higgle anew with a tainted crew — Red Earl, and is it well? Ye have followed fast, ye have followed far. On a dark and doubtful way, And the road is hard, is hard,' Red Earl, And the price is yet to pay. Ye shall pay that price as ye reap reward For the toil of your tongue and pen — In the praise of the blamed and the thanks of the shamed, And the honour o' knavish men. 266 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Thty scarce shall veil their scorn, Red Karl, AnJ the worst at the last shall be. When you tell your heart that it liocs not know -And your eye that it does not sec. ULSTER I 9 I I ("Their ivclis shall not become garments, neither shiill they cover them, selves with their works: their works are works re\ wolf meet. "May I eat ilirt if thou hast hurt of me .,> deed or breath; "What dam of lances hrouglit thee forth to jest at the dawn with Death?" Lightly answered the Colonel's son: "I holil hy the IiIihhI of my clan; "Take up the mare fo, my father's gift — hy Coil, she has carried a man!" The red r are ran lo the Colonel's son, and nuz/led against h ireast; "We he .wo strong men," said Kamal then, "Init she loveth the younger best. "So she shall go with a lifter's dower, my turquoise-studded rein, "My 'hroidcred saddle 1 saddle-cloth, and silver stirrups twain." The Colonel's son a pistol drew, and held it muzzle-end, "Ye have taken the one from a foe," said he; "Will ve take the mate from a friend?" "A gift for a gift," said Kamal straight; "a limb for the risk of a limb. "Thy father has sent his .son to me, I'll send my son to him!" With that he whistled his only son, that dropped from a mountain-crest — He trod the ling like a buck in spring, and he looked like a lance in rest. "Now here is thy master," Kamal said, "who leads a troop of the Guides, "And thou must ride at his left side as shield on shoi Ider rides. 272 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE "Till Death or I cut loose the tie, at camp and boafd and bed, "Thy life is his— thy fate it is to guard him with thy head. "So, thou must eat the White Queen's meat, and all her foes are thine, "And thou must harry thy father's hold for the peace of the Border-line. ".And thou must make a trooper tough and hack thy way to power — " Belike they will raise thee to Ressaldar when I am hanged in Peshawur." They have looked each other between the eves, and there they found no fault, They have taken the Oath of the Brother-in-Blood on leavened bread and salt: They have taken the Oath of the Brother-in-Blood on lire and fresh-cut sod, On the hilt and the haft of the Knyber knife, and the Won- drous Names of God. The Colonel's son he rides the mare and Kamal's boy the dun, .And two have come back to Fort Bukloh where there went forth but one. -And when they drew to the Quarter-Guard, full twenty swords flew clear — There was not a man but carried his feud with the blood of the mountaineer. "Ha' done! ha' done!" said the Colonel's son. "Put up the steel at your sides! "Last night ye had struck at a Border thief— to-night t is a man of the Guides!" Oh, East is East, and PVcst is IVest, and never the twain shall meet. Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God's great Judgment Seat; But there is neither East nor IVest, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth, IVhen two strong men stand face to /ace, though thev come from the ends of the earth ! INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 273 THE LAST SUTTEE 1889 m many ytars ago a King died in on, of the Rajpoot Stales. Hi, wive, disregarding the order, of the English agaimt Suttee, would ha„e broken out of the palaeeand turned Ihemsehe, with the eorpse had not the gates been barred But one o/them d„gui,ed a, the King-, favourite daneing-gir/, pa„ed through the Itne of guards and reached the pyre. There, her courage Jailing, she prayed her eomtn, a baron o] the Kings court, to kill her. This he did, not knowing who she was. ' * (JDAI CHAND lay sick to death In his hold by Gungra hill. All night we heard the death-gongs ring, For the soul of the dying Rajpoot King, All night beat up from the women's wing A cry that we could not still. All night the barons came and went, The Lords of the Outer Guard. All night the cressets glimmered pale On Ulwar sabre and Tonk jezail, Mewar headstall and Marwar mail, That clinked in the palace yard. In the Golden Room on the palace roof All night he fought for air: And there were sobbings behind the screen, Rustle and whisper of women unseen, And the hungry eyes of the Boondi Queen On the death she might not share. 374 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE He passed at dawn — the death-lire leaped From ridge to river-head, From the MaKva plains to the Abu scars; And wail upon wail went up to the stars Behind the grim zenana-bars, When they knew that the King was dead. The dumb priest knelt to tie his mouth And robe him for the pyre. The Boondi Queen beneath us cried; "See, now, that we die as our mothers died "In the bridal-bed by our master's side! "Out, women! — to the fire!" We drove the great gates home apace — White hands were on the sill — But ere the rush of the unseen feet Had reached the turn to the open street, The bars shot down, the guard-drum beat — We held the dovecot still. A face looked down in the gathering day, And laughing spoke from the wall; "Ohe, they mourn h^re: let me by — "Azizun, the Lucknow nautch-girl, I! "When the house is rotten, the rats must fly, ".And I seek another thrall. "For I ruled the King as ne'er did Queen, — "To-night the Queens rule me! "Guard them safely, but let me go, "Or ever they pay the debt they owe "In scourge and torture!" She leaped beloW; And the grim guard watched her flee. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 They knew that the King had spent his soul On a North-bred dancing-girl: That he prayed to a flat-nosed Lucknow god. And kissed the ground where her feet had trod, And doomed to death at her drunken nod, And swore by her lightest curl. We bore the King to his fathers' place, Where the tombs of the Sun-born stand: Where the grey apes swing, and the peacocks preen On fretted pillar and jewelled screen. And the wild boar couch in the house of the Queen On the drift of the desert sand. The herald read his titles forth We set the logs aglow: II Friend of the English, free from fear, "Baron of Luni to Jeysulmeer, "Lord of the Desert of Bikaneer, " King of the Jungle, — go!" All night the red flame stabbed the sky With wavering wind-tossed spears: And out of a shattered temple crept A woman who veiled her head and wept, And called on the King— but the great King slept, And turned not for her tears. 275 One watched, a bow-shot from the blaze. The silent streets between. Who had stood by the King in sport and frav. To blade in ambush or boar at bay, And he was a baron old and grey, .And kin to the Boondi Queen. 276 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Small thought had he to mark the strife — Cold fear with hot desire — When thrice she leaped from the leaping flame, And thrice she beat her breast for shame. And thrice like a wounded dove she came And moaned about the fire. He said: "O shameless, put aside "The veil upon thy brow! "Who held the King and all his land "To the wanton will of a harlot's hand! "Will the white ash rise from the blistered brand? "Stoop down, and call him now!" Then she: "By the faith of my tarnished soul, "All things I did not well, "I had hoped to clear ere the fire died, "And lay me down by my master's side "To rule in Heaven his only bride, "While the others howl in Hell. "But i have felt the fire's breath, "And hard it is to die! "Yet if I may pray a Rajpoot lord "To sully the steel of a Thakur's sword "With base-born blood of a trade abhorred And the Thakur answered, ".Ay." He drew and struck: the straight blade drank The life beneath the breast. "I had looked for the Queen to face the flame, "But the harlot dies for the Rajpoot dame — " Sister of mine, pass, free from shame. "Pass with thy King to rest!" INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 The black log crashed above the white: The little flames and lean, Red as slaughter and blue as steel. That whistled and fluttered from head to heel, Leaped up anew, for they found their meal On the heart of— the Boondi Queen! 277 GENERAL JOUBERT 1900 (DirJ, South African War, March 27, 1900) ■y^ITH those that bred, with those that loosed the strife, He had no part whose hands were clear of gain; But subtle, strong, and stubborn, gave his life To a lost cause, and knew the gift was vain. Later shall rise a people, sane and great, Forged in strong fires, by equal war made one; Telling old battles over without hate — Not least his name shall pass from sire to son. He may not meet the onsweep of our van In the doomed city when we close the score; Yet o'er his grave— his grave that holds a man— Our deep-tongued guns shall answer his once more! GEHAZI I 9 I 5 W^HENCE comest thou, Gehazi, So reverend to behold. In scarlet and in ermines And chain of England's gold?" 278 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE " From following after Naaman To tell him all is well, Whereby my zeal hath made me A Judge in Israel." Well done, well done, Gehazi! Stretch forth thy ready he 'd, Thou barely 'scaped from judgment, Take oath to judge the land Unswayed by gift of money Or privy bribe, more base. Of knowledge which is profit In any market-place. Search out and probe, Gehazi, As thou of all canst try. The truthful, well-weighed answer That tells the blacker lie — The loud, uneasy virtue The anger feigned at will, To overbear a witness And make the Court keep still. Take order now, Gehazi, That no man talk aside In secret with his judges The while his" case is tried. Lest he should show them — reason To keep a matter hid. And subtly lead the questions Away from what he did. Thou mirror of uprightness. What ails thee at thy vows? What means the risen whiteness Of the skin between thy brows ? INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 The boils that shine and burrow, The sores that slough and bleed— The leprosy of Naaman On thee and ail thy seed? Stand up, stand up, Gehazi, Draw close thy robe and go, Gehazi, Judge in Israel, A leper white as snow! 279 THE BALLAD OF THE KING'S MERCY 1889 ^BDHUR RAHMAN, the Durani Chief, of him is the story told. His mercy Jills the Khyber hills— his grace is manifold; He has taken toll of the North and the South—his glury reacheth far. And they tell the tale of his charity from Balkh to Kandahar. Before the old Peshawur Gate, where Kurd and Kaffir meet. The Governor of Kabul dealt the Justice of the Street, And that was strait as running noose and swift as plunging knife, Tho' he who held the longer purse niigh '.old the longer life. There was a hound of Hindustan had struck a Euzufzai, Wherefore they spat upon his face and led him out to die. [t chanced the King went forth that hour when throat was bared to knife; The Kaffir grovelled under-hoof and clamoured for his life. Then said the King: "Have hope, O friend! Yea, Death disgraced is hard. " Much honour shall be thine; " and called the Captain of the Guard, 2 So RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE ijil Yar Khan, a bastard of the Blood, so city-babble saith, And he was honoured of the King — the which is salt to Death; And he was son of Daoud Shah, the Reiver of the Plains, And blood of old Ourani Lords ran fire in his veins; And 'twas to tame an Afghan pride nor Hell nor Heaven could bind. The King would make him butcher to a yelping cur of Hind. "Strike!" said the King. "King's blood art thou — his death shall be his pride!" Then louder, that the crowd might catch: "Fear not — his arms are tied ! " Yar Khan drew clear the Khyber knife, and struck, and sheathed again. "O man, thy will is done," quoth he; "A King this dog hath slain." Abdhur Rahman, the Durani Chief, to the North and the South is sold. The North and the South shall open their mouth to a Ghilzai flag unrolled, fVhen the big guns speak to the Khyber peak, and his dog- Heratis fly: Ye have heard the song — How long ? How long ? fVolves of the Abazai 1 That night before the watch was set, when all the streets were clear, The Governor of Kabul spoke: "My King, hast thou no fear? "Thou knowest — thou hast heard," — his speech died at his master's face. And grimly said the Afghan King: "I rule the Afghan race. " My path is mine — see thou to thine. To-night upon thy bed "Think who there be in Kabul now that clamour for thy head." INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 281 Thatnight when all the gates were shut to City iind to throne. Within a little garden-house the King lay down alone. Before the sinking of the moon, which is the Night of Night, Yar Khan came softly to the King to make his honour white. The children of the town had mocked beneath his horse's hoofs, The harlots of the town had hailed him " butcher! " from their roofs. But as he groped against the wall, two hands upon him fell, The King behind his shoulder spake: " Dead man, thou dost not well! " 'T is ill to jest with Kings by day and seek a boon by night; "And that thou bearest in thy hand is all too sharp to write. " But three days hence, if God be good, and if thy strength remain, "Thou shalt demand one boon of me and bless me in thy pain. " For I am merciful to all, and most of all to thee. "My butcher of the shambles, rest— no knife hast thou for me!" Abdhur Rahman, the Durani Chief, holds hard hy the South and the North; But the Ghilzai knows, ere the melting snows, when the swollen hanks break forth, ff'heii the red-coats crawl to the sungar wall, and his Usieg lances fail: Ye have heard the song— How long ? How long ? IVohes oftheZiika Kheyll They stoned him in the rubbish-field when dawn was in the sky. According to the written word, "See that he do not die." They stoned him till the stones were piled above him on the plain. And those the labouring limbs displaced they tumbled back again. : 1, i i ! I ■ 38a RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE One watched licsiile the ilnary mimml that veiled the bat- tered thing, And him the King with laughter called the Herald of the King. It was upon the second night, the night of Ramazan, The watcher leaning earthward heard the message of Var Khan. From shattered breast through shrivelled lips broke forth the rattling breath, "Creature of God, deliver me from agony of Death." They sought the King among his girls, and risked their lives thereby: " Protector of the Pitiful, give orders that he die!" " Bid him endure until the day," a lagging answer came; "The night is short, and he can pray and learn to jless my name." Before the d.-.wn three times he spoke, and on the day once more: "Creature of God, deliver me, and bless the King therefor!" They shot him at the morning prayer, to ease him of his pain. And when he heard the matchlocks clink, he blessed the King again. Which thing the singers made a song for all the world to sing. So that the Outer Seas may know the mercy of the King. Abdhur Rahman, the Durani Chief, of him is the story told. He has opened his mouth to the North and the South, they have stuffed his mouth with gold. Ye know the truth of his tender ruth — and sweet his favours are: Ye have heard the song — How long ? How long ?—from Balkh to Kandahar. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 jSj THE BALLAD OF THK KING'S JKST 1890 ■y^HEN spring-time flushes the desert grass, Our kafilas wind through the Khvl>cr Pass. Lean are the camels but fat the frails. Light are the purses but heavy the bales. As the snowbound trade of the North comes down To the market-square of Peshawur town. In a turquoi.se twilight, crisp and chill, A kafila camped at the foot of the hill. Then blue smoke-haze of the cooking rose, And tent-peg answered 1 hammer-nose; And the picketed ponies, shag and wild, Strained at their ropes as the feed was piled; And the bubbling camels beside the load Sprawled for a furlong adown the road; And the Persian pu-ssy-cats, brought for sale. Spat at the dogs from the camel-bale; And the tribesmen bellowed to hasten the food; And the camp-fires twinkled by Kort Jumrood;' .And there fled on the wings of the gathering du,,k A savour of camels and carpets and musk, A murmur of voices, a reek of smoke. To tell us the trade of the Khyber woke. The lid of the flesh-pot ch.irtered high. The knives were whetted and— then'came I To Mahbub ."Mi, the muleteer. Patching his bridles and counting his gear. Crammed with the gossip of half a year But Mahbub Ali the kindly said, "Better is speech when the belly is fed." iH4 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE So wc plunged the hanil to the mid-wrist deep In a cinnamon stew of the tat-tailcd »heep, And he who never hath tasted the food, By Allah! he knoweth not bad from godd We cleansed our beards of the mutton-urcase, Wc lay on the mats and were filled with peace. And the talk slid north, and the talk slid south, With the sliding puffs from the hcxikah-mouth. Four things greater than all things are, — Women and Horses and Power and War. Wc spake of them all, but the last the most. Kor I sought a word of a Russian post. Of a shifty promise, an unsheathed sword And a grey-coat guard on the Ht! .und ford. Then Mahbub Ali lower.d his eyes In the fashion of one who is weaving lies. Quoth he; "Of the Russians who can say? "When the night is gathering all is grey. "But we look that the gloom of the night shall die "In the morning flush of a blood-red sky. "Friend of my heart, is it meet or wise "To warn a King of his enemies? "We know what Heaven or Hell may bring, "But no man knoweth fhe mind of the King. "That unsought counsel is cursed of God "Attesteth the story of Wali Dad. "His sire was leaky of tongue and pen, "His dam was a clucking Khuttuck hen; "And the colt bred close to the vice of each, "For he carried the curse of an unstanched speech. "Therewith madness — so that he sought "The favour of kings at the Kabul court; "And travelled, in hope of honour, far "To the line where the grey-coat squadrons are. INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 "There have I journeyed too— but I ■Saw nau(jht, said naught, and-did not die! //r hcarkcd to rumour, and snatched at a breath t)t this one knoweth- and 'that one saith,'— l-egcnds that ran from mouth to mouth Of a grty-coat coming, and sack of the South. _ Ihcsc have I also hcard-thty pass \\ith each new spring and the winter (jrass. I'Hot-foot southward, forgotten of God, Back to the cit) ran Wali J)ad, Even to Kabul— in full durbar "The King held talk with his Chief in War. Into the press of the crowd he broke •'And what he had heard of the coming spoke. .. 1^" Ghoiam Hyder, the Red Chief, smiled As a mother might on a babbling child- But those who would laugh restrained their breath, ..c f" ^. "'." "^ ^^^ ^'"S showed dark r.s death __Evdit ism full durbar ■'To cry to a ruler '. .'gathering war! Slowly he led to t peach-tree small, _ That g.ew by a cleft of the city wall And he said tc the boy: 'They shall praise thv 7eal ...4 ,? *' '"^ '^'^ *P"" follows the steel. And the Russ is upon us even now? ""Great is thy prudence— wait them,' thou. _ Watch from the tree. Thou art young and r-.trong. Surely tne vigil IS not for long. ^ The Russ IS upon us, thy clamour ran? Surely an hour shall bring their van. Wait and watch. "" ' ' "Shout aloud th J8: host IS near, la^ my men may hear.' "Friena of my heart, is it meet or wise To warn a King of his enemies? 286 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE "A guard was set that he might not flee — "A score of bayonets ringed the tree. "The peach-bloom fell in showers of snow, "When he shook at his death as he looked below. " By the power of God, who alone is great, "Till the seventh day he fought with his fate. "Then madness took him, and men declare "He mowed in the branches as ape and bear, "And last as a sloth, ere his body failed, "And he hung like a bat in the forks, and wailed, "And sleep the cord of his hands untied, "And he fell, and was caught on the points and died. "Heart of my heart, is it meet or wise "To warn a King of his enemies? "We know what Heaven or Hell may bring, "But nc man knoweth the mind of the King. "Of the grey-coat coming who can say? "When the night is gathering all is grey. "Two things greater than all things are, "The first is Love, and the second War. "And since we know not how War may prove, "Heart of my heart, let us talk of Love!" WITH SCINDIA TO DELHI 1890 More than a hundred years agOy in a great battle Jought near Delhiy an Indian Prince rode fifty miles after the day was lost with a beggar-girl^ who had loved him and followed him in all his camps, on his saddle-bow. He lost the girl when almost within sight of safety. A Mahratta trooper tells the story: — TpHE wreath of banquet overnight lay withered on the neck, Our hands and scarves were safl^ron-dyed for signal of despair, INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 287 When we went forth to Paniput to battle with the MIech — Ere we came back from Paniput and left a kingdom there. Thrice thirty thousand men were we to force the Jumna fords — The hawk-winged horse of Damajee, mailed squadrons of the Bhao, Stark levies of the southern hills, the Deccan's sharpest swords. And he, the harlot's traitor-son, the goatherd Mulhar Rao! Thrice thirty thousand men were we before the mists had cleared. The low white mists of morning heard the war-conch scream and bray. We called upon Bhowani and we gripped them by the beard We rolled upon them like a flood and washed their ranks away. The children of the hills of Khost before our lances ran We drove the black Rohillas back as cattle to the pen- T was then we needed Mulhar Rao to end what we began A thousand men had saved the charge; he fled the field with ten! There was no room to clear a sword— no power to strike a blow, For foot to foot, ay, breast to breast, the battle held us fast — Save where the naked hill-men ran, and stabbing from M Brought down the horse and rider and we trampled th and passed. low iL-m l88 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE To left the roar of musketry rang like a falling flood — To right the sunshine rippled red from redder lance and blade — Above the dark Upsaras^ flew, beneath us plashed the blood, And, bellying black against the dust, the Bhagwa Jhanda swayed. I saw it fall in smoke and fire, the Banner of the Bhao; I heard a voice across the press of one who called in vain: — "Ho! Anand Rao Nimbalkhur, ride! G.t aid of Mulhar Rao! "Go shame his squadrons into fight — the Bl. o — the Bhao is slain!" Thereat, as when a sand-bar breaks in clotted spume and spray, When rain of later autumn sweeps the Jumna water-head. Before their charge from flank to flank our riven ranks gave way — • But of the waters of that flood the Jumna fords ran red. I held by Scindia, my lord, as close as man might hold; A Soobah of the Deccan asks no aid to guard his life; But Holkar's Horse were flying, and our chiefest chiefs were cold. And like a flame among us leapt the long lean Northern knife. I held by Scindia — my lance from butt to tuft was dyed, The froth of battle bossed the shield and roped the bridle- chain — What time beneath our horses' feet a maiden rose and cried. And clung to Scindia, and I turned a sword-cut from the twain. 'The choosers of the SLiin. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 28.; (He set a spell upon the maid in woodlands long ago, A hunter by the Tapti banks, she gave him water there: He turned her heart to water, and she followed to her woe. What need had he of Lalun who had twenty maids as fair?; Now in that hour strength left my lord; he wrenched his mare aside; He bound the girl behind him and we slashed and strugRled free. Across the reeling wreck of strife we rode as shadows ride From Paniput to Delhi town, but not alone were we. 'T was Lutif-Ullah Populzai laid horse upon our track A swme-fed reiver of the North that lusted for the maid; 1 might have barred his path awhile, but Scindia called me back. And I— O woe for Scindia!— I listened and obeyed. League after league the formless scrub took shape and glided League after league the white road swirled behind the white mare s feet- League after league, when leagues were done, we heard the Populzai, Where sure as Time and swift as Death the tireless footfall beat. Noon's eye beheld that shame of flight; the shadows fell, we tied Where steadfast as the wheeling kite he followed in our tram; i'he black wolf warred where we had warred, the jackal mocked our dead. And terror born of twilight-tide made mad the labouring bram. 290 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE I gasped: — "A kingdom waits my lord; her love is hut her own. "A day shall mar, a day shall cure, for her — but what for thee? "Cut loose the girl; he follows fast. Cut loose and ride alone!" Then Scindia 'twixt his blistered lips; — "My Queens' Queen shall she be! ;! I "Of all who ate my bread last night 'twas she alone that came "To seek her love between the spears and find her crown therein! "One shame is mine to-day. What necu the weight of double shame ? "Ifonce we reach the Delhi gate, though all be lost, I win!" lis We rode — the white mare failed — her trot a staggering stumble grew, — The cooking-smokeof even rose and weltered and hung low; And still we heard the Populzai and still we strained anew, And Delhi town was very near, but nearer was the foe. Yea, Delhi town was very near when Lalun whispered: — "Slay! "Lord of my life, the mare sinks fast — stab deep and let me die!" But Scindia would not, and the maid tore free and flung away. And turning as she fell we heard the clattering Popijlzai. Then Scindia checked the gasping mare that rocked and groaned for breath. And wheeled to charge and plunged the knife a hands- breadth in her side — INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 2.;, ^^^ '"delTh-"'^ ''"' """"'"^ ''""* '"''' '''■■" '''■'' P='"''-- '^ The blood had chillfd about h.r heart, she reared and fell and died. Our Gods were kind. Before he heard the maiden's piteous scream '^ A log upon the Delhi road, beneath the mare he lav— ThTT' *"'! '°'! H"''" P^'^^^'l '"•■'■"'•« him like a dream- The darkness closed about his eyes. I bore my King awav' THE DOVE OF D.'\CCA 1892 fHE freed dove flew to the Rajah's tower- Fled from the slaughter of Moslem kings- And the thorns have covered the city of Gaur. Dove— dove — oh, homing dove! Little white traitor, with woe on thy wings! The Rajah of Dacca rode under the wall; _^ He set in his bosom a dove of flight— "If she return, be sure that I fall." Dove— dove— oh, homing dove! Pressed to his heart in the thick of the fight. "Fire the palace, the fort, and the keep- Leave to the foeman no spoil at all. In the flame of the palace lie down and sleep If the dove— if the dove— if the homing dove Come and alone to the palace ,wall." *9i RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE The Kings of the North they were scattered abroad- The Rajah of Dacca he slew them all. Hot from slaughter he stooped at the ford, And the dove — the dove — oh, the homing dove! She thought of her cote on the palace-wall. She opened her wings and she flew away — Fluttered away beyond recall; She came to the palace at break of day. Dove — dove — oh, homing dove, Flying so fast for a kingdom's fall! The Queens of Dacca they slept in flame — Slept in the flame of the palace old — To save their honour from Moslem shame. And the dove — the dove — oh, the homing dove, She cooed to her young where the smoke-cloud rolled! ii The Rajah of Dacca rode far and fleet, Followed as fast as a horse could fly, He came and the palace was black at his feet; And the dove — the dove — the homing dove. Circled alone in the stainless sky. So the dove flew to the Rajah's tower — Fled from the slaughter of Moslem kings; So the thorns covered the city of Gaur, And Dacca was lost for a white dove's wings. Dove— dove — oh, homing dove, Dacca is lost from the Roll of the Kings! INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1835-1918 ^93 THE BALLAD OF BOH DA THONE (Burma tfar, iSSjSs) This is lit ballaj of Boh Da Thorn, Erst a Prrlmltr lo Thribaw's Ihront, Who harried Ihr District o/ Alalonc: Hon he met with his Jale and the V. P. P.' At the hand oj Hadendra Mukerji, Senior Comashta, C. B. T.' gOH DA THONE was a warrior bold: His sword and his rifle were bossed with gold, And the Peacock Banner his henchmen bore Was stiff with bullion, but stiffer with gore. He shot at the strong and he slashed at the weak trom the Salween scrub to the Chindwin teak: He crucified noble, he scarified mean, He filled old ladies with kerosene: While over the water the papers cried, "The patriot fights for his countryside!" But little they cared for the Native Press, The worn white soldiers in khaki dress. Who tramped through the jungle and camped in the byre. Who died m the swamp and were tombed in the mire, 'Value Payable Post = collect on delivery. 'Head Clerk, Government Bullock Train. «94 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Who gave up their lives, at the Queen's Command, For the Pride of their Race and the Peace of the Land. Now, first of the foemen of Boh Da Thone Was Captain O'Neil of the Black Tyrone, And his was a Company, seventy strong. Who hustled that dissolute Chief along. There were lads from Galway and Louth and Meath Who went to their death with a joke in their teeth, And worshipped with fluency, fervour, and zeal The mud on the boot-heels of "Crook" O'Neil. But ever a blight on their labours lay. And evef their quarry would vanish away, Till the sun-dried boys of the Black Tyrone Took a brotherly interest in Boh Da Thone, And, sooth, if pursuit in possession ends. The Boh and his trackers were best of friends. The word of a scout — a mai:ch by night — A rush through the mist— a scattering fight — A volley from cover — a corpse in the clearing — A glimpse of a loin-cloth and heavy jade earring — The flare of a village — the tally of slain — And . . . the Boh was abroad on the raid again! They cursed their luck, as the Irish will, They gave him credit for cunning and skill. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 2,,,- They buried their dead, they bolted their beef, And started anew on the track of the thief. Tin in placeof the "Kalends of Greece," men said, When Crmk and h.s darlings come back with the head." They had hunted the Boh from the hills to the plain- He doubled and broke for the hills again: They had crippled his power for rapine and raid, I hey had routed him out of his pet stockade. And at last, they came, when the Daystar tired, 1 o a camp deserted— a village fired. A black cross blistered the iVlorning-gold Hut the body upon it was stark and cold. The wind of the dawn went merrily past, I he high grass bowed her plumes to the blast. And out of the grass, on a sudden, broke A spirtle of fire, a whorl of smoke— And Captain O'Neil of the Black Tyrone Was blessed with a slug in the ulnar-bone- 1 he gift of his enemy Boh Da Thone. (Now a slug that is hammered from telegraph-wire Is a thorn in the flesh and a rankling fire ) The shot-wound festered-as shot-wounds may In a steaming barrack at Mandalay. The left arm throbbed, and the Captain swore 1 d like to be after the Boh once more!" ' '^ a96 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE The fever held him — the Captain said, "I'd give a hundred to look at his head!" The Hospital punkahs creaked and whirred, But Babu Harendra (Gomashta) heard. He thought of the cane-brake, green and dank, That girdled his home by the Dacca tank. He thought of his wife and his High School son. He thought — but abandoned the thought — of a gun His sleep was broken by visions dread Of a shining Boh with a silver head. He kept his counsel and went his way. And swindled the cartmen of half their pay. And the months went on, as the worst must do, And the Boh returned to the raid anew. But the Captain had quitted the long-drawn strife, And in far Simoorie had taken a wife; And she was a damsel of delicate mould, With hair like the sunshine and heart of gold, And little she knew the arms that embraced Had cloven a man from the brow to the waist: And little she knew that the loving lips Had ordered a quivering life's eclipse, Or the eye that lit at her lightest breath Had glared unawed in the Gates of Death. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 (For rhese be matters a man would hide, As a general rule, from an innocent Bridf.) And little the Captain thought of the past, And, of all men, Babu Harendra last. 397 But slow, in the sludge of the Kathun road, The Government Bullock Train toted its load. Speckless and spotless and shining mth g/iee,' In the rearmost cart sat the Babu-jee; .■\nd ever a phantom before him fled Of a scowling Boh with a silver head. Then the lead-cart stuck, though the coolies slaved, And the cartmen flogged and the p jrt raved. And out of the jungle, with y v Pranced Boh Da Thone, and els! Then belching blunderbuss an^wc The Snider's snarl and the carbine's c And the blithe revolver began to sing To the blade that twanged on the locking-ring, And the brown flesh blued where the bayonet kissed, As the steel shot back with a wrench and a twist. And the great white bullocks with onyx eyes Watched the souls of the dead arise, And over the smoke of the fusillade The Peacock Banner staggered and swayed. 'Butter. !' ' *98 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE The Babu shook at the horrible sight, And girded his ixinderous loins for flight, But Fate had ordained that the Boh should start On a lone-hand raid of the rearmost cart. And out of that cart, with a bellow of woe. The Babu fell— flat on the top of the Boh! For years had Harendra served the State, To the growth of his purse and the girth of his^;/.> There were twenty stone, as the tally-man knows, On the broad of the chest of this best of Bohs. And twenty stone from a height discharged Are bad for a Boh with a spleen enlarged. Oh, short was the struggle — severe was the shock — He dropped like a bullorl-— he lav like a block; And the Babu above him, convulsed with fear. Heard the labouring life-breath hissed out in his ear. And thus in a fashion undignified The princely pest of the Chindwin died. Turn now to Simoorie, where, all at his ease. The Captain is petting the Bride on his knees. Where the whit of the bullet, the wounded man's scream .Are mixed as the mist of some devilish dream — Forgotten, forgotten the sweat of the shambles Where the hill-daisy blooms and the grey monkey gambols, 'Stomach. INCLUSIVE EDITION. 188&-I918 19c Friim the swora-Lclt set free aiul r.leas.-<| lr„m the steel. I he I eace ot the Loril is on Captain O'Neill Up the hill to Simoorie— most patient of drudges— The bags on his shoulder, the mail-runner trudges. "For Captain O'Neil Sahib. One hundred and ten Rupees to collect on delivery." Then (Their breakfast was stopi>ed while the .screw-jack and hammer Tore waxcloth, split teak-wood, and chipped out the dam- mer';) Open-eyed, open-mouthed, on the napery's snow With a crash and a thud, rolled-ti. Mead of the Boh! And gummed to the scalp was a letter which ran:— "In FiELDiNo Force Service. "Encampment, " loth Jan. ,.P'*f Sir,— I have honour to send, as you said, For final approval (see under) Boh's Head; ''Was took by myself in most bloody affair. By High Education brought pressure to bear. 'Now violate Liberty, time being bad, To mail V. P. P. (rupees hundred) Please add I Whatever Your Honour can pass. ? ice of Blood Much cheap at one hundred, and i ■ liren want food; * Native sealing-wax. 300 RUDVAKD KIPLING'S VERSE "So trusting Your Honour will somewhat retain "True love and affection for Govt. Bullock Train, "And show awful kindness to satisfy me, "I am, "Graceful Master, "Your "H. MUKERJI." As the rabbit is drawn to the rattlesnake's power. As the smoker's eye fills at the opium hour. As a horse reaches up to the manger above, As the waiting ear yearns for the whisper of love, From the arms of the Bride, iron-visaged and slow. The Captain bent down to the Head of the Boh. .^nd e'en as he looked on the Thing where It lay 'Twixt the winking new spoons and the napkins' array, The freed mind fled back to the long-ago days — The hand-to-hand scuffle — the smoke and the blaze — The forced march at night and the quick rush at dawn- The banjo at twilight, the burial ere morn^ The stench of the marshes — the raw, piercing smell When the overhand stabbing-cut silenced the yell — The oaths of his Irish that surged when they stood Where the !)lack crosses hung o'er the Kuttamow flood. As a derelict ship drifts away with the tide The Captain went out on the Past from his Bride, INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 301 Back, back, through the springs to the chill of the year. When he hunted the Boh from Maloon to Tsaleer. A he shape of a corpse dimmers up through deep uatcr In n.s eye lit the passionless passion of slaughter, ^nd men who had fought with O'Neil for the life Had gazed on his face with less dread than his wife. Kor she who had held him so long could not hold him- 1 hough a four-month Eternity should have controlled him!- But watched the twin Terror-the head turned to head- rhe scowlmg, scarred Black, and the flushed savage Red- The spirit that changed from her knowing and flew to borne gnm hidden Past she had never a clue to. But It knew as It grinned, for he touched it unfearing, .'Vnd muttered aloud, "So you kept that jade earring!" Then nodded, and kindly, as friend nods to friend Old man, you fought well, but you lost in the end." The visions departed, and Shame foUowed Passion •_ He took what I said in this horrible iMhion? i:/'// write to Harendra!" With language unsainted The Captain came back to the Bride ... who had fainted. And this is a fiction i' No. Go to Simoorie And look at their baby, a twelve-month old Houri. 302 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE A pert little, Irish-eyed Kathleen Mavournin — She's always about on the Mall of a mornin' — And you'll see, if her right shoulder-strap is displaced. This: Gules upon argent, a. Boh's Head, erased ! THE SACRIFICE OF ER-HEB 1887 ^R-HEB beyond the Hills of Ao-Safai Bears witness to the truth, and Ao-Safai Hath told the men of Gorukh. Theme the tale Comes westward o'er the peaks to India. The story of Bisesa, Armod's child, — A maiden plighted to the Chief in War, The Man of Sixty Spears, who held the Pass That leads to Thibet, but to-day is gone To seek his comfort of the God called Budh The Silent — showing how the Sickness ceased Because of her who died to save the tribe. Taman is One and greatei; than us all, Taman is One and greater than all Gods: Taman is Two in One and rides the sky. Curved like a stallion's croup, from dusk to dawn. And drums upon it with his heels, by which Is bred the neighing thunder in the hills. This is Taman, the God of all Er-Heb, Who was before all Gods, and made all Gods, And presently will break the Gods he made, And step upon the Earth to govern me' Who give him milk-dry ewes and cheat his Priests, i ^'if4 30} INCLUSIVE EDITION, 188&-1918 Or leave his shrine unlighted— as Er-Heb Left it unlighted and forgot Taman When all the Valley followed after Kysh And Yabosh, little Gods but very wise And from the sky Taman beheld their sin. He sent the Sickness out upon the hills The Red Horse Sickness with the iron hooves, 1 o turn the Valley to Taman again. And the Red Horse snuffed thrice into the wind, 1 he naked wmd that had no fear of him- And the Red Horse stamped thrice upon' the snow, I he naked snows that had no fear of him; And the Red Horse went out across the rocks I he nngmg rocks that had no fear of him- And downward, where the lean birch meets the snow. And downward, where the grev pine meets the birch. And downward, where the dwarf oak meets the pine, lill at his feet our cup-like pastures lay. That night, the slow mists of the evening dropped, Uropped as a cloth upon a dead man's face. And weltered in the valley, bluish-white Like water very silent— spread abroad. Like water very silent, from the Shrine Unlighted of Taman to where the stream Is dammed to fill our cattle-troughs— sent up Wh.tewaves that rocked and heaved and stilled themselves. Till all the V alley glittered like a marsh, Beneath the moonlight, filled with sluggish mist Knee-deep, so that men waded as they walked. That night, the Red Horse grazed above the Dam, Beyond the cattle-troughs. Men heard him feed And those that heard him sickened where they lav 3ver. And killed her black bull Tor, and broke her wheel, And loosed her hair, as for the marriage-feast, With cries more loud than mourning for the dead. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 307 Across the fieKls, from Armnd's dwelling-place. We heard Bisesa weeping wi.ere she passed In f7 II [^," g*""? ^'"■'"^' '^' ^'^ »"'^ "eighed And followed her, and on the river-mint His hooves struck dead and heavy in our cars. Out of the mists of evening, as the star Of Ao-Safai climbs through the black snow-blurs 1 o show the Pass is clear, Bisesa stepped Upon the great grey slope of mortised stone. The Causeway of Taman. The Red Horse neighed Behind her to the Lnlighted Shrine-then fled IMorth to the Mountain where his Stable lies. They know who dared the anger of Taman And watched that night above the clinging mists, {•ar up the hill, Bisesa's passing in. She set her hand upon the carven door •ouled by a myriad bats, and black with time. Whereon is graved the Glorv of Taman In letters older than the .Ao^Safai; And twice she turned aside and twice she wept Cast down upon the threshold, clamouring ' ^or him she loved-the Man of Sixty Spears And for her father,-and the black bull Tor Hers and her pride. Yea, twice she turned away Betore the awful darkness of the door, And the great horror of the Wall of .\ian Where Man is made the plaything of 'J-aman, An tyeless I- ace that waits above and laughs. But th.- third time she cried and put her palms Against the hewn stone leaves, and praved Taman To spare Er-Heb and take her life for price ?o8 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE They k„ow who watched, the d ors were rent apart And closed upon Bisesa, and th. rain ^ Broke hke a flood across the Valley, washed Ihc mist away; but louder than the rain The thunder of Taman filled men with fear. Some say that from the Unlighted Shrine she cried ^or succour, very pitifully, thrice And others that she sang and had no fear. And some that there was neither song nor cry But only thunder and the lashing rain. Howbeit in the morning men rose up. Perplexed with horror, crowding to the Shrine. And when Er-Heb was gathered at the doors i he Fnests made lamentation and passed in io a strange Temple and a God they feared But knew not. ' 'c^rea u, J .L ■ , ^'■'"" *he crevices the grass Had thrust the altar-slabs apart, the walls Were grey w,th stains unclean, the roof-beams swelled W,th many-coloured growth of rottenness/ And lichen veiled the Image of Taman In leprosy. The Basin of the Blood Above the altar held the morning sun: A winking ruby on its heart. Below l-ace hid in hands, the maid Bisesa la'y. Er-Hei beyond the Hills of ^o-Safai Bears witness to the truth, and Ao-Safai Hath told the men of Gorukh. Theme the tale Comes westward o'er the peaks to India INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 309 led THE LAMENT OF THE BORDER CATTIE THIEF ■^iii.t 1888 O ^^^^ '* '"'^ ''"■ the merry life I led beyond the Bar, And a treble woe for my winsome wife I hat weeps at Shalimar. They have taken away my long iezail ' My shield and sabre fine And heaved me into the Central Jail For hftmg of the kine. The steer may low within the bvre, The Jat may tend his grain ' '£.f,''f^'" *'e neither loot nor fire 111! I come back again. And God have mercy on the Jat When once my fetters fall And Heaven defend the farmer's hut When I am loosed from thrall. It's woe to bend the stubborn back Above the grinching quern It s woe to hear the leg-bar clack And jmgle when I turn ! But for the sorrow and the shame, Ihe brand on me and mine, 111 pay you back in leaping flame And loss of the butchered kine. 'Native gun. 3IO RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE For every cow I spared before— In charity set free — If I may reach my hold once more I'll reive an honest three. For every time I raised the lowe That scared the dusty plain, By sword and cord, by torch and tow I'll light the land with twain! Ride hard, ride hard to Abazai, Young Sahib with the yellow hair- Lie close, lie close as Khuttucks» lie. Fat herds below Bonair! The one I'll shoot at twilight-tide, At dawn I'll drive the other; The black shall mourn for hoof and hide. The white man for his brother. 'Tis war, red war, I'll give you then. War till my sinews fail; For the wrong you have done to a chief of men. And a thief of the Zukka Kheyl. And if I fall to your hand afresh I give you leave for the sin, That you cram my throat with the foul pig's flesh. And swmg me in the skin! 'A tribe on the Indian frontitr. INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 3,, THE FEET OF THE YOUNG MEN 1897 N^ITk' V ^"'°\^' «<; Spring go up to clear the brain; the T^fs ' " "^ '""'''"^ '"' ''" *''''P*' °f Now the Red Gods make their medicine again! Who hath seen the beaver busied? Who hath watched the blacK-tail matmg? Who hath lain alone to hear the wild-goose cry? Who hath worked the chosen water where the ouananiche is waitmg. Or the sea-trout's jumping-crazy for the fly? Htmust g,f—go~go away from here ! _ On the other side the world he's overdue Send your road is clear before you when the old Spring, fret comes oer you, "^ * ylnd the Red Gods call for you ! ^ '^"'tTe'l^w *" '*■' ""'''"^ ''""°"^'' '•'* "'"'"'* """'' And for one the creak of snow-shoes on the crust: And for one the lakeside lilies where the buli-moose ;aits the COW, And for one the mule-train coughing in the dust. Who hath smelt wood-smoke at twilight? Who hath heard the Dirch-log burning? Who is quick to read the noises of the night' Let h,m follow with the others, for the Young Men's feet are turning To the camps of proved desire and known delight! Let him go — gOy etc. 3H RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE J Do you know the blackened timber-do you know that racinir stream " With the raw, right-angled log-jam at the end; And the bar of sun-warmed shingle where a man may bask and dream To the click of shod canoc-poles round the bend? 1 1 >s there that we are going with our rods and reels and traces, io a silent, smoky Indian that we know- To a couch of new-pulled hemlock, with the starlight on our faces, I'or the Red Gods call us out and we must go! ney mini go— go, etc. II Ho you know the shallow Baltic where the seas are steep and short, Where the blutF, lee-boarded fishing-luggers ride? Do you know the joy of threshing leagues to leeward of your port ' On a coast you've lost the chart of overside? It IS there that I am going, with an extra hand to bale her— Just one able 'long-shore loafer that I know. He can take his chance of drowning, while i ind sail her, Kor the Red Gods call me out and I mu, ..; ffe must go — gOy etc. Ill V)o you know the pile-built village where the sago-dealers trade — Do you know the reek offish and wet bamboo? Do you know the steaming stillness of the orchid-scented glade INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 3'} When the blazoned, bird-wingcil butterflies flan throuizh? It IS there that I am going with my camphor, net, an.! Ik,x\s, lo a gentle, yellow pirate that I know- To my little wailing lemurs, to my palms and flying-foxes. ^or tht Red Gods call me out and I must bo! He muilgo — go, etc. IV Do you know the world's white roof-trcc— do you know that windy rift Where the baffling mountain-eddies chop and change' Do you know the long day's patience, belly-down on "frozen drift, While the head of heads is feeding out of range? It is there that I am going, where the boulders am. the snow lie, With a trusty, nimble tracker that I know. I have sworn an oath, to keep it on the Horns of Ovis Poli, And the Red Gods call me out and I must go! He must go — go^ etc. Now the Four-way Lodge is opened— now the Smokes of Council rise — Pleasant smokes, ere yet 'twixt trail and trail they choose- Now the girths and ropes are tested: now they pack their last supplies: Now our Young Men go to dance before the Trues! Who shall meet them at those altars— who shall light them to that shrine ? Velvet-footed, who shall guide them to their goal? Unto each the voice and vision: unto each his spoor and sign- Lonely mountain in the Northland, misty sweat-bath 'neath the Line — 314 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE And to each a man that knows his naked soul! White or yellow, black or copper, he is waiting, as a lover, Smoke of funnel, dust of hooves, or beat of train — Where the high grass hides the horseman or the glaring flats discover — Where the steamer hails the landing, or the surf-boat brings the rover — Where the rails run out in sand-drift . . . Quick! ah, heave the camp-kit over. For the Red Gods make their medicine again! And we go — go — go away from here I On the other side the world we 're overdue ! 'Send the road is clear bejore you when the old Spring- fret comes o'er you. And the Red Gods call far you ! A BOY SCOUTS' PATROL SONG I 9 I 3 TpHESE are our regulations — There's just one law for the Scout And the first and the last, and the present and the past, And the future and the perfect is "Look out!" I, thou and he, look out! We, ye and they, look out! Though you didn't or you wouldn't Or you hadn't or you couldn't; You jolly well must look out! INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 Look out, when you start for the day That your kit is packed to your mind; There is no use going away With halfofit left behind. Look out that your laces are tight. And your boots are easy and stout, Or you'll end with a blister at night. {Chorus) All Patrols look out! 31S Look out for the birds of the air, Look out for the beasts of the field They'll tell you how and where The other side's concealeil. When the blackbird bolts from the copse. Or the cattle are staring about, The wise commander stops And (chorus) All Patrols look out! Look out when your front is clear, And you feel you are bound to win. Look out for your flank and your rear — That's where surprises begin. For the rustle that isn't a rat, For the splash that isn't a trout, For the boulder that may be a hat {Chorus) All Patrols look out! For the innocent knee-high grass, For the ditch that never tells, Lookout! Look ou t ere you pass — And look out for everything else! A sign mis-read as you run May turn retreat to a rout- For all things under the sun {Chorus) All Patrols look out! 3i6 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Look out when your temper goes At the end of a losing game; When your boots are too tight for your toes; And you answer and argue and blame. It's the hardest part of the Law, But it has to b; learnt by the Scout— For whining and shirking and "jaw" {Chorus) All Patrols look out! THE TRUCE OF THE BEAR 1898 YEARLY, with tent and rifle, our careless white men go By the pass called Muttianee, to shoot in the vale below. Yearly by Muttianee he follows our white men in— Matun, the old blind beggar, bandaged from brow to chin. Eyeless, noseless, and lipless— toothless, broken of speech. Seeking a dole at the doorway he mumbles his tale to each; Over and over the story, ending as he began: "Make ye no truce with Adam-zad— the Bear that walks like a Man! "There was a flint in my musket— pricked and primed was the pan. When I went hunting Adam-zad— the Bear that stands like a Man. I looked my last on the timber, I looked my last on the snow, When I went hunting Adam-zad fifty summers ago! " I knew his times and his seasons, as he knew mine, that fed Bv night in the ripened maizefield and robbed my house of bread. I knew his strength and cunning, as he knew mine, that crept At dawn to the crowded goat-pens and plundered while I slept. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 3,7 "Up from his stony playground— down from his well-diBEed lair^ "^ Out on the naked ridges ran Adam-zad the Bear; Groaning, grunting, and roaring, heavy with stolen meals Two long marches to northward, and I was at his heels! "Two long marches to northward, at the fall of the second night, I came on mine enemy Adam-zad all panting from his flight. I here was a charge in the musket— pricked and primed was the pan — My finger crooked on the trigger— when he reared up like a man. "Horrible, hairy, human, with paws like hands in prayer, iMakmg his supplication rose Adam-zad the Bear! I looked at the swaying shoulders, at the paunch's swag and swing, And my heart was touched with pity for the monstrous, plead- ing thing. "Touched with pity and wonder, I did not fire then . , I have looked no more on women— I have walked no more with men. Nearer he tottered and nearer, with paws like hands that pray— From brow to jaw that steel-shod paw, it ripped my face away! "Sudden, silent, and savage, searing as flame the blow- Faceless I fell before his feet, fifty summers ago. I heard him grunt and chuckle— I heard him pass to his den He left me blind to the darkened years and the little mercy of men. 3i8 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE "Now ye go down in the morning with guns of the newer style, That load (I have felt) in the middle and range (I have heard) a mile? Luck to the white man's rifle, that shoots so fast and true, But — pay, and I lift my bandage and show what the Bear can do!" (Flesh like slag in the furnace, knobbed and withered and grey— Matun, the old blind beggar, he gives good worth for his pay.) " Rouse him at noon in the bushes, follow and press him hard — Not for his ragings and roarings flinch ye from Adam-zad. "But (pay, and I put back the bandage) this is the time to fear. When he stands up like a tired man, tottering near and near; When he stands up as pleading, in wavering, man-brute guise. When he veils the hate and cunning of his little, swinish eyes; " When he shows as seeking quarter, with paws like hands in prayer, That is the time of peril — the time of the Truce of the Bear!" Eyeless, noseless, and lipless, askmg a dole at the door, Matun, the old blind beggar, he tells it o'er and o'er; Fumbling and feeling the rifles, warming his hands at the flame, Hearing our careless white men talk of the morrow's game; Over and over the story, ending as he began: — " There is no truce with Adam-iad, the Bear that looks like a Man ! " INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 319 RUSSIA TO THE PACIFISTS I 9 I 8 f^OD rest you, peaceful gentlemen, let nothing you dismay, But — leave your sports a little while — the dead are borne this way! Armies dead and Cities dead, past all count or care. God rest you, merry gentlemen, what portent see you there? Singing: — Break ground for a wearied host That have no ground to keep. Give them the rest that they covet most . . . And who shall next to sleep, good sirs, In such a trench to sleep? God rest you, peaceful gentlemen, but give us leave to pass. We go to dig a nation's grave as great as England was. For this Kingdom and this Glory and this Power and this Pride Three hundred years it flourished — in three hundred days it died. Singing: — Pour oil for a frozen throng. That lie about the ways. Give them the warmth they have lacked so long ... And what shall be next to blaze, good sirs. On such a pyre to blaze? God rest you, thoughtful gentlemen, and send your sleep islight ! Remains of this dominion no shadow, sound, or sight. Except the sound of weeping and the sight of burning fire. And the shadow of a people that is trampled into mire. Singing: — Break bread for a starving folk That perish in the field. Give them their food as they take the yoke . . . And who shall be next to yield, good sirs, For such a bribe to yield? 320 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE God rest you, merry gentlemen, and keep you in your mirth! VVas ever Kmgdom turned so soon to ashes, blood, and earth? Twixt the summer and the snow— seeding-time and frost- Arms and victual, hope and counsel, name and country lost! Singing:— Z.^/ down by the foot and the head— S/iove/ and smooth it all ! So do we bury a Nation dead . . And who shall be next to fall, good sirs. With your good help to fall? THE PEACE OF DIVES 1 903 *pHE Word came down to Dives in Torment where he lay ■ "Our World is full ofwickedness. My Children maim and slay, I' And the Saint and Seer and Prophet "Can make no better of it "Than to sanctify and prophesy and pray. _ Rise up, rise up, thou Dives, and take again thy gold, 'And thy women and thy hou'sen as they were to thee of old. It may be grace hath found thee ^^ "In the furnace where We bound thee, "And that thou shalt bring the peace My Son foretold." Then merrily rose Dives and leaped from out his fire, And walked abroad with diligence to do the Lord's desire; And anon the battles ceased, And the captives were released. And Earth had rest from Goshen to Gadire. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 321 The Word came down to Satan that raged and roared alone, 'Mid the shouting of the peoples by the cannon overthrown (But the Prophets, Saints, and Seers Set each other by the ears. For each would claim the marvel as his own): ' Rise up, rise up, thou Satan, upon the Earth to go, "And prove the Peace of Dives if it be good or no: " For all that he hath planned "We deliver to thy hand, "As thy skill shall serve, to break it or bring low." Then mightily rose Satan, and about the Earth he hied. And breathed on Kings in idleness and Princes drunk with pride. But for all the wrong he breathed There was never sword unsheathed. And the fires he lighted flickered out and died. Then terribly rose Satan, and he darkened Earth afar. Till he came on cunning Dives where the money-changers are; And he saw men pledge their gear For the gold that buys the spear. And the helmet and the habergeon of war. Yea to Dives came the Persian and the Syrian and the Mede— And their hearts were nothing altered, nor their cunning nor their greed — And they pledged their flocks and farms For the King-compelling arms, .^nd Dives lent according to their need. izz RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Then Satan said to Dives:— "Return again with me, " Who hast broken His Commandment in the day He set thee free, "Who grindest for thy greed, "Man's belly-pinch and need; "And the blood of Man to filthy usury!" Then softly answered Dives where the money-changers sit:— "My refuge is Our Master, O My Master in the Pit. "But behold all Earth is laid "In the Peace which I have made, "And behold I wait on thee to trouble it!" Then angrily turned Satan, and about the Seas he fled, To shake the new-sown peoples with insult, doubt, and dread; But, for all the sleight he used. There was never squadron loosed. And the brand.s he flung flew dying and fell dead. But to Dives came Atlantis and the Captains of the West— And their hates were nothing weakened nor their anger nor unrest — Ar.d they pawned their utmost trade For the dry, decreeing blade; And Dives lent and took of them their best. Then Satan said to Dives:— "Declare thou by The Name, "The secret of thy subtlety that turneth mine to shame. "It is known through all the Hells "How my peoples mocked my spells, "And my faithless Kings denied me ere I came." Then answered cunning Dives: "Do not gold and hate abide "At the heart of every Magic, yea, and senseless fear beside? "With gold and fear and hate "I have harnessed state to state, And by hate and fear and gold their hates are tied. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 188&-1918 323 ;;For hate men seek a weapon, for fear they seek a shield- Keener blades and broader targes than their frantic neigh- hours wield— ° " For gold I arm their hands, _^ "And for gold 1 buy their lands. And for gold I sell their enemies the yield. "Their nearest foes may purchase, or their furthest friends may lease, '^"a!^LT- ^'■°"' ^""^"} ^""'^ '" ""^ Isl""'!' °{ the Seas. And their covenants they make "For the naked iron's sake, 'But I— I trap them armoured into peace. "It P°k'"' '^wIHK P'"^8"'' ""= '° Assyria I drave. And Pharaoh hath the increase of the herds that Sargon ''Not for Ashdod overthrown , ''W'" the Kings destroy their own. Or their peoples wake the strife they feign to brave. "Is not Carchemish like Calno? For Ae steeds of their desire "They have sold me seven harvests that I sell to Crownina 1 yre; * j'Arid the Tyrian sweeps the plains __ With a thousand hired wains, 'And the Cities keep the peace and— share the hire. "Hast thou seen the pride of Moab? For the swords about his path, "His bond is to Philistia, in half of all he hath. And he dare not draw the sword "Till Gaza give the word, "And he show release from Askalon and Gath. jx* RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE "Wilt thou call again thy peoples, wilt thou craze anew thv King) ? "Lo! my lightnings pass before thee, and their whistlini servant brings, " Ere the drowsy street hath stirred — "Every masked and midnight word, "And the nations break their fast upon these things. |;So I make a jest of Wonder, and a mock of Time and Space The roofless Seas an hostel, and the Earth a market-place, ^^ Where the anxious traders know " Each is surety for his foe, "And none may thrive without his fellows' grace. II Now this is all my subtlety and this is all my wit, "God give thee good enlightenment. My Master in the Pit 'j But behold all Earth is laid "In the Peace which I have made, "And behold I wait on thee to trouble it!" A SONG OF THE WHITE MEN I 899 ^OW, this is the cup the White Men drink W'hen they go to right a wrong. And that is the cup of the old world's hate — Cruel and strained and strong. We have d -unk that cup— and a bitter, bitter cup- And tosied the dregs away. But well or the world when the White Men drink To thf, dawn of the White Man's day! INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 Now this is the road that the White Men tread When they go to clean a land - Iron underfoot and levin overhead And the deep on either hand We have trod that road-and a wet and windy road- Uur chosen star (or guide. "xr"/"?*"^ *°fld when the White Men tread 1 heir highway side by side! Now this is the faith that the White Men hold When they build their homes afar— I^^^T;'"" °"''«'*'« and freedom for our sons And, tailing freedom, War." We have proved our faith-bear witness to our faith Dear souls of freemen slain ! Oh well for the world when the White Men join lo prove their faith again! 3^5 THE ROWERS 1902 Wh.n Germany p™po«d .hat England should help her in , naval dem. onstration to collect debts from Venezuela.) 'J'HE banked oars fell an hundred strong. And backed and threshed and ground, out bitter was the rowers' song As they brought the war-boat round. They h.-id no heart for the rally and roar H7i: ^ '''^ whale-bath smoke- When the great blades cleave and hold and leave As one on the racing stroke. 3j6 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE They sang: — 'What reckoning ilo you keep, And steer her by what star, If we come unscathed from the Southern deep To be wrecked on a Baltic bar? "Last night you swore our voyage was done, But seaward still we go. And you tell us now of a secret vow You have made with an open foe! "That we must lie off a lightless coast And haul and back and veer, At the will of the breed that have wronged us most For a year and a year and a year! "There was never a shame in Christendie They laid not to our door — And you say we must take the winter sea And sail with them once more? "Look South! The gale is scarce o'erpast That stripped and laid us down, When we stood forth but they stood fast And prayed to see us drown. "Our dead they mocked are scarcely cold, Our wounds are bleeding yet — And you tell us now that our strength is solr To help them press for a debt! " 'Neath all the flags of all mankind That use upon the seas. Was there no other fleet to find That you strike hands with these? ij! INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 "Of evil times that men can choose On evil fate to fall, What brooding JuUgn- i. i you loose To pick the worst oi •''•' "In sight of peace— from the Narrow Seas O'er half the world to run— With a cheated crew, to league anew With the Goth and the shameless Hun!" iiy AN IMPERIAL RESCRIPT 1890 J^OW this is the tale of the Council the German Kaiser decreed, To ease the strong of their burden, to help the weak in their need. He sent a word to the peoples, who struggle, and pant, and sweat, That the straw might be counted fairly and the tally of bricks be set. The Lords of Their Hands assembled. From the East and the West they drew — Baltimore, Lille, and Essen, Brummagem, Clyde, and Crewe. And some were black from the furnace, and some were brown from the soil, And some were blue from the dye-vat; but all were wearied of toil. And the young King said:— "I have found it, the road to the rest ye seek: "The strong shall wait for the weary, the hale shall halt for the weak; 328 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE "With the even tramp of an army where no man breaks from the line, "Ye shall march to peace and plenty in the bond of brother hood — sign!" The paper lay on the table, the strong heads bowed thereby. And a wail went up from the peoples: — "Ay, sign — give rest, for we die ! " A hand was stretched to the goose-quill, a fist was cramped to scrawl. When — the laugh of a blue-eyed maiden ran clear through the council-hall. And each one heard Her laughing as each one saw Her plain — Saidie, Mimi, or Olga, Gretchen, or Mary Jane. And the Spirit of Man That is in Him to the light of the vision woke; And the men drew back from the paper, as a Yankee delegate spoke: — "There's a girl in Jersey City who works on the telephone; "We're going to hitch our horses and dig for a house of our own, "With gas and water connections, and steam-heat through to the top; "And, W. HohenzoUern, I guess I shall work till I drop." And an English delegate thundered: — "The weak an' the lame be blowed! "I've a berth in the Sou '-West workshops, a home in the Wandsworth Road; "And till the 'sociation has footed my buryin' bill, "I work for the kids an' the missus. Pull up! I'll be damned if I will!" INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 329 And over the German benches the bearded whisper ran:— Lager, der girls und der dollars, dey makes or dey breaks a man. "If Schmitt haf collared der dollars, he collars der girl deremit; "But if Schmitt bust in der pizness, we collars der girl from Schmitt." They passed one resolution:— "Your sub-committee believe You can lighten the curse of Adam when you've lifted the curse of Eve. "But till we are built like angels, with hammer and chisel and pen, " We will work for ourselves and a woman, for ever and ever amen." ' Now this is the tale of the Council the German Kaiser held— The day that they razored the Grindstone, the day that the Cat was belled, The day of the Figs from Thistles, the day of the Twisted Sands, The day that the laugh of a maiden made light of the Lords of Their Hands. A DEATH-BED I 9 I 8 "yHIS is the State above the Law. The State exists for the State alone." [This is a gland at the back of the jaw. And an answering lump by the collar-bone.] Some die shouting in gas or fire; Some die s'lent, by shell and shot. Some die desperate, caught on the wire; Some die suddenly. This will not. 330 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE "Regis suprema voluntas Lex" [// willjollow the regular course of— throats.] Some die pinned by the broken decks, Some die sobbing between the boats. Some die eloquent, pressed to death By the sliding trench as their friends can hear. Some die wholly in half a breath. Some— give trouble for half a year. "There is neither Evil nor Good in life Except as the needs of the State ordain." [Since it is rather too late for the knife. All we can do is to mask the pain.] Some die saintly in faith and hope — One died thus in a prison-yard — Some die broken by rape or the rope; Some die easily. This dies hard. "I will dash to pieces who bar my way. Woe to the traitor! Woe to the weak!" [Let him write what he wishes to say. It tires him out if he tries to speak.] Some die quietly. Some abound In loud self-pity. Others spread Bad morale through the cots around . This is a type that is better dead. "The war was forced on me by my foes. .^11 that I sought was the right to live." [Don't be afraid of a triple dose; The pain wilt neutralize half we give. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 Here are the needles. See that he dies While the effects of the drug endure. . . fVhat is the i/uestion he atks with his eyes?— Yes, ^ll-Highest, to God, be sure.] 331 ET DONA FERENTES 1896 JN EXTENDED observation of the ways and works of man. From the Four-mile Radius roughly to the Plains of Hindustan: I have drunk with mixed assemblies, seen the racial ruction rise. And the men of half Creation damning half Creation's eyes. I have watched them in their tantrums, all that pentecostal crew, French, Italian, Arab, Spaniard, Dutch and Greek, and Russ and Jew, Celt and savage, buff and ochre, cream and yellow, mauve and white; But it never really mattered till the English grew polite; Till the men with polished toppers, till the men in long frock- coats. Till the men who do not duel, till the men who war with votes, Till the breed that take their pleasures as Saint Lawrence took his grid. Began to "beg your pardon" and— the knowing croupier hid. Then the bandsmen with their fiddles, and the girls that bring the beer, Felt the psychologic moment, left the lit casino clear; 33^ RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE But the uninstructed alien, from the Teuton to the Gaul, Was entrapped, once more, my country, by that suave, decep- tive drawl. '^ m As It was m ancient Suez or 'neath wilder, milder skies J observe with apprehension" when the racial ructions rise- And with keener apprehension, if I read the times aright. Hear th? old casino order: " Watch your man, but be polite. " Keep your temper. Never answer (Ma/ was why they spat and swore). Don't hit first, but move together (there's no hurry) to the door. Back to back, and facing outward while the linguist tells 'em how — "Nous jommes allong ah notre hatteau, nous ne voulonr pas un row.'" So the hard, pent rage ate inward, till some idiot went too far . . . "Let 'em have it!" and they had it, and the same was merry war. ' Fist, umbrella, cane, decanter, lamp and beer-mug, chair and boot — Till behind the fleeing legions rose the long, hoarse yell for loot. Then the oil-cloth with its numbers, like a banner fluttered free; Then the grand piano cantered, on three castors, down the quay; White, and breathing through their nostrils, silent, syste- matic, swift — They removed, efl^aced, abolished all that man could heave or lift. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 333 Oh, my country, bless the training that from cot to casfc runs — The pitfall of the stranger but the bulwark of thy sons- Measured speech and ordered action, sluggish soul and un- perturbed. Till we wake our Island-Devil-nowise cool for being curbed! When the heir of all the ages " has the honour to remain," When he will not hear an insult, though men make it ne'er so plain, When his lips are schooled to meekness, when his back is bowed to blows — "'^" tnows^" ""'-"OS'!' know it-well the waiting jackal Build on J^he flanks of Etna where the sullen smoke-puffs Or bathe in tropic waters where the lean fin dogs the boat- tock the gun that is not loaded, cook the frozen dynamite- But oh, beware my Country, when my Country grows THE HOLY WAi 1917 (•■For here lay th. excelknt wisdom of him that built Mansoul, that the wad^ could never be broken down nor hurt by the most migh y advers^ hT,V ) •°*"™=" g^^'e consent thereto."-BuNvANN ^ TINKERout of Bedford, A vagrant oft in quod, A private under Fairfax, A minister of God — 334 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Two hundred years and thirty Ere Armageddon came His single hand portrayed it, And Bunyan was his name! He mapped for those who follow. The world in which we are — "This famous town of Mansoul" That takes the Holy War. Her true and traitor people, The gates along her wall. From Eye Gate unto Feel Gate, John Bunyan showed them all. All enemy divisions, Recruits of every class, And highly-screened positions For flame or poison-gas; The craft that we call modern. The crimes that we call new, John Bunyan had "em typed and filed In sixteen Eighty-two. Likewise the Lords of Looseness That hamper.faith and works. The Perseverance-Doubters, And Present-Comfort shirks, With brittle intellectuals Who crack beneath a strain- John Bunyan met that helpful set In Charles the Second's reign. Emmanuel's vanguard dying For right and not for rights. My Lord Apollyon lying To the State-kept Stockholmites, INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 The Pope, the swithering Neutrals, The Kaiser and his Gott— Their roles, their goals, their nakf J souls- He knew and drew the lot. Now he hath left his quarters, In Bunhill Fields to lie, The wisdom that he taught us Is proven prophecy — One watchword through our Armies, One answer from our Lands:— "No dealings with Diabolus As long as Mansoul stands!" A pedlar from a hovel. The lowest of the low. The Father of the Novel, Salvation's first Defoe, Eight blinded generations Ere Armageddon came. He showed us how to meet it, And Bunyan was his name ! 335 FRANCE I 9 I 3 ^ROKE to every known mischance, lifted over all By the light sane joy of life, the buckler of the Gaul- Furious tn luxury, merciless in toil. Terrible with strength that draws from her tireless soil; First to follow Truth and last to leave old Truths behind- trance, beloved of every soul that loves its fellow-kind > 336 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Ere our birth (rememberest thou?) side by side we lay fretting in the womb of Rome to begin our fray. Ere men knew our tongues apart, our one task was known— hach to mould the other's fate as he wrought hin their heart than we launcLd of old Now we hear new voices rise, question, boast or gird, ' *Mh?ed ^"""""^'"' ''"'"•) "'hen our c?owds were Now we count new keels afloat, and new hosts on land, ""planned" ^""'""^"'' *''°"'^ *•>«" °"^ strokes were ^' *"lade*!°°'"* ^°' '*'" ^'^''' "''"■ '" ''"°* '"'^ °'^"''> What can Blood and Iron make more than we have made' What s'half Bl^'''' H V""', "'^ 'l ''"°* "'^ "h"'^ "> "d What shall Blood and Iron loose that we cannot bind? Sinj th '*'P' '«|' "'''"'^ -^o"". sacked each other's home, Smce the sword of Brennus clashed on the scales at Rome \nX1'vT^ ""^ close again, wheeling girth to girth. In the Imked and steadfast guard set for peace on earth! Broke to every known mischance, lifted over all By the light sane joy of life, the buckler of the Gaul- l-urious m luxury, merciless in toil, Terrible with strength renewed from a tireless soil- ll^r^'V !k "Lh" °*n *°"h, gentlest of man's mind, F«„V £r ^ T™**" ""'' "l' '° ^"^' °W Truths behind- irance, beloved of every soul that loves or serves its kind! "BEFORE A MIDNIGHT BREAKS IN STORM" ' 903 gEFORE a midnight breaks in storm, Or herded sea in wrath, Ye know what wavering gi-sts inform The greater tempest's path? Till the loosed wind Drive all from mind, 1 I> n iii 1 338 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Except Distress, which, so will prophets cry, O'ercame them, houseless, from the unhinting sky. Ere rivers league against the land In piratry of flo (Outkrtak 0/ fliwr »'«r) //£^£ /V nothing nev> nor aught unproven," say me Trum- .. "¥'"yf"' '"""^ "">"» '■' ""d the road is old indeed Jtis the King—the King we schooled aforetime !" (Trumpets m the marshes-in the eyot at Runny mede !) ■^pw""/* "*■■"'"' "'"''"'"' ""''"n^r peal the Trumpets, fardonjor hu penitence or pity Jor his fall ,"'^' ^"'S'"~i»exoratle Trumpets— {Trumpets round the scaffold at the dawning by IVhitehall >) ill 342 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE "He hath veiled the Crown and hid the Sceptre," wan the Trum pets, "t'ffhfh changed the fashion of the lies that cloak his will. Hard die the Kmgs~ah hard^dooms hard!" declare the Frumpels, Trumpets at the gang-plank where the brawling troop-decks .Indent and Unteachable, abide—abide the Trumpets! Once again the Trumpets, for the shuddering ground-swell brings Clamour over ocean of the harsh, pursuing Trumpets- Trumpets of the Fanguard that have^ sworn no truce with Kings ! All we have of freedom, all we use or know— This our fathers bought for us long and long ago. Ancient R^shr unnoticed as the breath we draw- Leave to 1, , oy no man's leave, underneath the Law. Lance and torch and tumult, steel and grey-goose wing Wrenched it, inch and ell and all, ,'owly from the King. Till our fathers 'stablished, after bloody years. How our King is one with us, first among his peers. So they bought us freedom— not at little cost- Wherefore must we watch the King, lest our gain be lost. Over all things certain, this is sure indeed, Suffer not the old King: for we know the breed. Give no ear to bondsmen bidding us endure. Whining "He is weak and far": crying "Time shall cure." INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 343 (Time himself is witness, till the battle joins, Deeper strikes the rottenness in the people's loins.) Give no heed to bondsmen masking war with peace. Suffer not the old King here or oversea'!. They that beg us barter— wait his yielding mood- Pledge the years we hold in trust— pawn our brother's blood — Howso' great their clamour, whatsoe'er their claim, Suffer not the old King under any name! Here is naught unproven—here is naught to learn. It is written vohat shall fall ij the King return. He shall mark our goings, question whence we came. Set his guards about us, as in Freedom's name. He shall take a tribute, toll of all our ware; He shall change our gold for arms— arms we may not bear. He shall break his Judges if they cross his word; He shall rule above the Law calling on the Lord. He shall peep and mutter; and the night shall bring Watchers 'neath our window, lest we mock the King- Hate and all division; hosts of hurrvini; spies; Money poured in secret, carrion breeding flics. Strangers of his counsel, hirelings of his pay, These shall deal our Justice: sell -deny— delay. We shall drink dishonour, we shall eat abuse For the Land we look to— for the Tongue we use. 344 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE We shall take our station, dirt beneath his feet. While his hired captains jeer us in the street. Cruel in the shadow, crafty in the sun. Far beyond his borders shall his teachings run. Sloven, sullen, savage, secret, uncontrolled. Laying on a new land evil of the old— Long-forgotten bondage, dwarfing heart and brain- All our fathers died to loose he shall bind again. Here is naught at venture, random nor untrue- Swings the wheel /ull-circle, brims the cup anew Here is naught unproven, here is nothing hid: Step for step and word for word—so the old Kings did! Step by step, and word by word: who is ruled ma^ read. Suffer not the old Kings: for we know the breed- All the right they promt sf all the wrong they b, :ng Stewards of the Judgment, suffer not this King ! THE LE.SSON I 8 9 9 - I 9 o 2 (Hart H'„r) J^ET us admit it fairly, as a business people should, IVe have had m, end of a lesson: it will do us no good. end of N'ot on a sinylc issue, or in one direction or twain, But conclusively, comprehensively, and several times and again, INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 345 Were all our most holy illusions knocked higher than Gilde- royskite. We have had a jolly good lesson, and it serves us jolly well This was not bestowed us under the trees, nor yet in the shade of a tent, But swingingly, over eleven degrees of a bare brown conti- nent. From Lamberts to Delagoa Bay, and from Pietersbure to Sutherland, * Fell the phenomenal lesson we leanietl— with a fulness ac- corded no other land. It was our fault and our very great fault, and not the iudL'- ment of Heaven. ' " We made an Army in our own image, on an island nine by seven, ' Which faithfully mirrored its makers' ideals, equipment, and mental attitude^ And so we got our lesson: and we ought to accept it with gratitude. We have spent two hundred million pounds to nrove the fact once more, ' That horses are quicker than men afoot, since two and two make four; And horses have four legs, and men have two kgs, and twr, into four goes twice, And nothing over except our lesson— and very cheap at the price. For remember (this our children shall know: we are too near for that knowledge) Not our mere astonied camps, but Council and Cr«d and Coll( ■ge- •£ '.Wna#lli his lahour " rhey said: "Who is eaten |.y sloth? Whose iinthrift has (Icstrovcil him? He shall levy a tribute Croin al! I.ecaiise none have emi.jovca him." They said: "Who hath toiled, who hath striven, and (lathered possession? Let him be spoileil. He hath given full proof of transgres- sion." They saiil: "Who is irked by the Law? Thout^h toe may iiol rcnio-:i- ity IJ he lend us his aid in this mid, we will set him ahove it ! " So the robber did judgment again upon such as displeased him. The slayer, too, boasted his slain, and the judges released him. As for their kinsmen far off, on the skirts of the nation. They harried all earth to make sure none escaped reprobation. They awakened unrest for a jest in their newly-won borders. And jeered at the blood of their brethren betrayed by their orders. They instructed the ruled to rebel, their rulers to aid rh.m; And, since such as obeyed them not fell, their Viceroys obeyed them. When the riotous set them at naught they said: "Praise the upheaval! For the show and the word and the thought of Dominion is evil!" They unwound and flung- ''rom them with rage, as a rag that defiled them The imperial gains of the age which their forefathers piled them. 3^4 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE They ran panting in haste to lay waste and embitter for ever The wellsprings of Wisdom and Strength which are Faith and Endeavour. They nosed out and digged up and dragged forth and exposeil to derision All doctrine of purpose and worth and restraint and prevision : And it ceased, and Goil granted them all things for which they had striven. And the heart of a beast in the place of a man's heart was given. . . . When they were fullest of wine and most flagrant in error. Out of the sea rose a sign— out of Heaven a terror. Then they saw, then they heard, then they knew— for none trouhled to hide it. An h jsthad prepared theirdestruction, but still they denied it. Thej denied what they dared not abide if it came to the trial. But the Sword that was forged while they lied did not heed their denial. It drove home, and no time was allowed to the crowd that was driven. The preposterous-minded were cowcil — they thought time would be given. There was no need of a steed nor a lance to pursue tliem; It was decreed their own deed, and not chance, should undo them. The tares they had laughingly sown were ripe to the reaping. The trust they had leagued to disown was removed fr m their keeping. The eaters of other men's bread, the exempted from hardship, ■The excusers of impotence fled, abdicating their wardship, For the hate they had taught through the State brought the State no defender, And it passed from the roll of the Nations in headlong sur- render ! INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 }(>i THE HV/ENAS ^FTER thf Imrial-partics leave And the balfliil kites have fled; The wise hywnas tome out at eve To take account of our deai!. How he died and why he died Troubles them not a whit. They .snout the bushes and stones aside And dig till thi come to it. They are only re.solute they shall eat Inat they and their mates may thrive, And they know that the dead are safer meat Than the weakest thing alive (For a goat may butt, and a \ ,rm may sting, And a child will sometimes stand; But a poor dead soldier of the King Can never lift a hand.) They whoop and halloi, and scatter the dirt Until their tushes white Take good hold in the army shirt, And tug the corpse to light, And the pitiful face is shewn again For an instant ere they close; But it is not discovered to living men — Only to God and to those Who, being soulless, are free from shame, Whatever meat they may find. Nor do they defile the dead man's name — That is reserved for his kind. 366 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE THE REFORMERS I 90 I ^OT in the camp his victory lies ,,,, 9^ triumph in the market-place, irho IS his Nation's sacrifice To turn the judgment from his race. Happy ,i he who, bred and taught By sleek, sufficing Circumstance— Whose Gospel was the apparelled thought, Whose Gods wer.. Luxury and Chance-^ Sees on the threshold of his days. The old life shrivel like a scroll. And to unhi-ralded dismays Submits hit lody and his soul; The fatted shows wherein he stood toregomg, and the idiot pride, ^n I '"''^ P''°^^ *'''' •'■' °*" blood All that his easy sires denied — Ultimate issues, primal springs, Demands, abasements, penalties— I he imperishable plinth of things Seen and unseen, that touch our peace. VoT, though ensnaring ritual dim His vision through the after-years. ret virtue shall go out of him— Example profiting his peers. INCLUSIVE EDITION. ISS^igig 367 With great things charged he shall not hold Aloof till great occasion rise. Hut serve, full-harnessed, as of old, Ihe Days that are the Destinies. He shall forswear and put away The idols of his sheltered house: And to Necessity shall pay Unflinching tribute of his vows. He shall not plead another's act Nor bind him in another's oath To weigh the Word above the Fact Or make or take excuse for sloth.' The yoke he bore .hall press him still, .'Ind, long-ingrain6d efTort goad lo hnd, to fashion, and fulfil The cleaner life, the sterner code. Not in the camp his victory lies— The world {unheeding his return) i>hall see it in his children's eyes And from his grandson' s lips shall learn ' THE COVENANT I 9 14 \yE thought we ranked above the chance of ill Others might fall, not we, for we were wise- Merchants in freedom. So, of our free-will VVe let our servants drug our strength with lies. 368 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE The pleasure and the poison had its way On us as on the meanest, till we learned That he who lies will steal, who steals will slay. Neither God's judgment nor man's heart was turned. Yet there remains His Mercy— to be sought Through wrath and peril till' we cleanse the wrong By that last right which our forefathers claimed When their Law failed them and its stewards were bought This IS our cause. God help us, and make strong Our will to meet Him later, unashamed! THE OLD MEN 1902 y^/ZW is our lot if we live so long and labour unto the end- That we outlive the impatient years and the much too patient friend: And because we know we have breath in our mouth and think we have thoughts in our head, IVe shall assume that we are alive, whereas we are really dead. We shall not acknowledge that old stars fade or brighter planets arise (That the s-re bush buds or the desert blooms or the ancient well-head dries), Or any new compass wherewith new men adventure 'neath new skies. We shall lift up the ropes that constrained our youth, to bind on our children's hands; We shall call to the water below the bridges to r»turn and replenish our lands; We shall harness horses (Death's own pale horses) and scholarly plough the sands. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 360 ^' '*' oir lav- '" ""^ ''" °^ '^' '"" ^°' '«^'' °f « "ght on We shalUbide till the battle is won ere we amble into the ""' ''t^:izri'r'' --' '''-''• -' -- -<^ - '^'" "mankind- "^ '""^"''''"^ '""^^ °'^^"^''"^ " God and ^'''"t'hindr""""^ °''' '" "^ "">' ">= A™y has left We ''hall makejvalk preposterous ghosts of the glories we once Immodestly smearing from muddled palettes amazing pig. ments mismated ° "° And our friends will weep when we ask them with boasts if our natural force be abated. The Lamp of our Youth will be utterly out, but we shall subsist on the smell of if "c, out we shall '"' trrn::hfn°k :^s ^°'^ °- '-'- -' -^ °- nis isour^ lot if we li.e so long and lister, to those who love '""" ""pZertZis' "" '"'"' "'-' ""' ^'"""''' »y "" '^'""^Zt/r "^y""- '""'"' ''^''-"' ^«A Mnsfree, be '""" "ZhntellTe'r"" "' ''-*•>- ^" "^-h h. 370 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE m m THE OUTLAWS 914 ^HROUGH learned and laborious years They set themselves to find Fresh terrors and undreamed-of fears To heap upon mankind. All that they drew from Heaven above Or digged from earth beneath, They laid into their treasure-trove And arsenals of death: While, for well-weighed advantage sake, Ruler and ruled alike Built up the faith they meant to break When the fit hour should strike. They traded with the careless earth, And good return it gave: They plotted by their neighbour's hearth The means to make him slave. When all was ready to their hand They loosed their hidden sword, And utterly laid waste a land Their oath was pledged to guard. Coldly they went about to raise To life and make more dread Abominations of old days. That men believed were dead. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 They paid the price to reach their goal Across a world in flame; But their own hate slew their own soul Before that victory came. 371 THE WHITE MAN'S BURDEN I 899 'pAKE up the White Man's burden- Send forth the best ye breed- Go bind your sons to exile To serve your captives' need; To wait in heavy harness, On fluttered folk and wild— Your new-caught, sullen peoples. Half-devil and half-child. Take up the White Man's Burden- In patience to abide, To veil the threat of terror And check the show of pride; By open speech and simple, An hundred times made plain, To seek another's profit, And work another's gain. Take up the White Man's burden— The savage wars of peace — Fill full the mouth of Famine And bid the sickness cease; And when your goal is nearest The end for others sought. Watch Sloth and heathen Folly Brmg all your hope to nought. 37* RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Take up the White Man's burden — No tawdry rule of kings, But toil of serf and sweeper — The tale of common things. The ports ye shall not enter, The roads ye shall not tread. Go make them with your living, And mark them with your dead. Take up the White Man's burden— And reap his old reward: The blame of those ye better. The hate of those ye guard — The cry of hosts ye humour _ (Ah, slowly!) toward the light:— "Why brought ye us from bondage, "Our loved Egyptian night?" Take up the White Man's burden— Ye dare not stoop to less — Nor call too loud on Freedom To cloak your weariness; By all ye cry or whisper, By all ye leave or do. The silent, sullen peoples Shall weigh your Gods and you. Take jp the White Man's burden- Have done with childish days — The lightly proffered laurel. The easy, ungrudged praise. Comes now, to search your manhood Through all the thankless years. Cold, edged with dear-bought wisdom. The judgment of your peers! INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 373 HYMN BEFORE ACTION 1896 "yHE earth is full of anger, The seas are dark with wrath, The Nations in their harness Go up against our path: Ere yet we loose the legions— Ere yet we draw the blade, Jehovah of the Thunders, Lord God of Battles, aid! High lust and forward bearing, Proud heart, rebellious brow — Deaf ear and soul uncaring. We seek Thy mercy now! The sinner that forswore Thee, The fool that passed Thee by. Our times are known before Thee— Lord, grant us strength to die! For those who kneel beside us At altars not Thine own. Who lack the lights that guide us, Lord, let their faith atone! If wrong we did to call them. By honour bound they came; Let not Thy Wrath befall them. But deal to us the blame. From panic, pride, and terror. Revenge that knows no rein. Light haste and lawless error, Protect us yet again. 374 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Cloke Thou our undeserving, Make firm the shuddering breath, In silence and unswerving To taste Thy lesser death! Ah, Mary pierced with sorrow, Remember, reach and save The soul that comes to-morrow Before the God that gave! Since each was born of woman, For each at utter need — True comrade and true foeman — Madonna, intercede! E'en now their vanguard gathers, E'en now we face the fray- As Thou didst help our fathers, Help Thou our host to day. Fulfilled of signs and wonders, In life, in death made clear — Jehovah of the Thunders, Lord God of Battles, hear! A SONG AT COCK-CROW I 9 I 8 "Ille autem ilerum negauit." "yHE first time that Peter denied his Lord He shrank from the cudgel, the scourge and the cord, But followed far off to see what they would do, Till the cock crew — till the cock crew — After Gethsemane, till the cock crew! INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 375 The first time that Peter denied his Lord 'Twas only a maid in the palace who heard. As he sat by the fire and warmed himself through. Then the cock crew! Then the cock crew! ("Thou also art one of them.") Then the cock crew! The first time that Peter denied his LonI He had neither the Throne, nor the Keys nor the .Sword— A poor silly fisherman, what could he do. When the cock crew — when the cock crew — But weep for his wickedness when the cock crew? The next time that Peter denied his Lord He was Fisher of Men, as foretold by the Word, With the Crown on his brow and the Cross on his shoe. When the cock crew — when the cock crew — In Flanders and Picardy when the cock crew! The next time that Peter denied his Lord 'Twas Mary the Mother in Heaven Who heard, And She grieved for the maidens and wives that they slew When the cock crew — when the cock crew — At Tirmoiide and Aerschott when the cock crew! The next time that Peter denied his Lord The Babe in the Manger awakened and stirred, And He stretched out His arms for the playmates He knew — When the cock crew — when the cock crew — But the waters had covered them when the cock crew! The next time that Peter denied his Lord 'Twas Earth in her agony waited his word, But he sat by the fire and naught would he do, Though the cock crew — though the cock crew — Over all Christendom, though the cock crew ! 376 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE The last time that Peter deniid his Lord, The Father took from him the Keys and the Sword, And the Mother and Babe brake his Kingdom in two, When the cock crew— when the cock crew— (Becauje 0/ his wickedneu) when the cock crew! THE QUESTION I 9 I 6 gRETHREN, how shall it fare with me When the war is laid aside, If it be proven that I am he For whom a world has died? If it be proven that all my good, And the greater good I will make, Wr- ; purchased me by a multitude Who suffered for my sake? That I was delivered by mere mankind Vowed to one sacrifice. And not, as I hold them, battle-blind. But dying with open eyes? That they did not ask me to draw the sword When they stood to endure their lot — That they only looked to me for a word. And I answered I knew them not? If it be found, when the battle clears, Their death has set me free, Then how shall I live with myself through the years Which they have bought for me? INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 Brethren, how must it fare with me, Or how am I justified, If it be proven that I am he For whom mankind has died — If it be proven that I am he Who, being questioned, denied? 377 RECESSIONAL 1897 QOD of our fathers, known of old, Lord of our far-flung battle-line, Beneath whose awful Hand we hold Dominion over palm and pine — Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet. Lest we forget — lest we forget! The tumult and the shouting dies; The Captains and the Kings depart: Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice. An humble and a contrite heart. Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet. Lest we forget— lest we forget! Far-called, our navies melt away; On dune and headland sinks the fire: Lo, all our pomp of yesterday Is one with Nineveh and Tyre ! Judge of the Nations, spare us yet. Lest we forget — lest we forget! J78 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE It, ilrunk with sij^ht ii(' [xiwir, wc loose Wild tonj{ucs that have not Thic in awe, Such Kiastings as the (itntilcs use. Or lesser lirteils without the Law - Lorii (loj of Hosts, bi- with us yet, Lest we forget- lest we forget! Kor heathen heart that puts her trust In reeking tube and iron shard. All valiant dust that builds on dust. And guarding, calls not Thee to guard, For frantic boast and foolish word— Thy mercy on Thy People, Lord ! 'FOR ALL WE HAVE AND ARE" I 9 I 4 JPOR all we have and are, For all our children's fate. Stand up and take the war. The Hun is at the gate! CXir world has passed away In wantonness o'erthrown. There is nothing left to-day But steel and fire and stone ! Though all we knew depart, The old Commandments stand: — "In courage keep your heart, In strength lift up your hand." Once more we hear the word That sickened earth of old:— "No law except the Sword Unsheathed and uncontrolled." ii i INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 Once more it knits mankind, Once more the nations go To meet .mil break ami bind A crazed and driven foe. Comfort, content, delight. The ages' slow-lwught gain, They shrivelled in a night. Only ourselves remain To face the naked days In silent fortitude. Through perils and dismays Renev/cd and re-renewed. Though all we made depart, The old Commandments stand: "In patience keep your heart. In strength lift up yuur hand." No easy hope or lies Shall bring us to our goal, Bur iron sacrifice Of body, will, and soul. There is but one t.isk for all — One life for each to give. What stands if Freedom fall? Who dies if England live? 379 THE THREE-DECKER " The three-mtume novel is exiinet." pULL thirty foot she towereii from waterline to rail. It coct a watch to steer her, and a week to shorten sail; But, spitc all modern notions, I've found her first and best— The only certain packet for the Islands of the Blest. jSo RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Fair held the breeze behind us— 'twas warm with lovers' prayers. We'd stolen wills for ballast and a crew of missing heirs. They shipped as Able Bastards till the Wicked Nurse con- fessed, And they worked the old three-decker to the Islands of the Blest. By wsys no gaze could follow, a course unspoiled of cook, Per Fancy, fleetest in man, our titled berths we took With maids of matchless beauty and parentage unguessed, And a Church of England parson for the Islands of the Blest. We asked no social questions— we pumped no hidden shame— VVe never talked obstetrics when the Little Stranger came: We left the Lord in Heaven, we left the fiends in Hell. We weren't exactly Yussufs, but— Zuleika didn't tell. No moral doubt assaile.-l us, so when the port we neared, The villain had his flogging at the gangway, and we cheered. 'Twas fiddle in the foe 's'le— 'twas garlands on the mast. For every one got married, and I went ashore at last. I left 'em all in couples akissing on the decks. I left the lovers loving and the parents signing cheques. In endless English comfort, by county-folk caressed, I left the old three-decker at the Islands of the Blest! . That route is barred to steamers: you'll never lift again Our purple-painted headlands or the lordly keeps of Spain. They're just beyond your skyline, howe'er so far you cruise In a ram-you-damn-you liner with a brace of bucking screws. Swing round your aching search-light— 'twill show no haven's peace. Ay, blow your shrieking sirens at the deaf, grey-bearded seas! Boom out the dripping oil-bags to skin the deep's unrest— And you aren't one knot the nearer to the Islands of the Blest! INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 jSi But when you're threshing, crippled, with broken bridge and rail, At a drogue of dead convictions to hold you head to gale Calm as the Flyni? Dutchman, from truck to taffrail dressed rou 11 see the old three-decker for the Islands of the Blest. You|ll see her tiering canvas in sheeted silver spread; You 11 hear the long-drawn thunder 'neath her leaping figure- head; While far, so far above you, her tall poop-lanterns shine Unvexed by wmd or weather like the candles round a shrine ! Hull down— hull down and under— she dwindles to a speck With noise of pleasant music and dancing on her deck All s well— all's well aboard her— she's left vou far behind With a scent of old-world roses through the fog that ties vou blind. Her crews are babes or madmen ? Her port is all to make ' You re manned by Truth and Science, and you steam for steaming's sake? Well, tinker up your engines— you know your business best— i/ie s taking tired people to the Islands of the Blest! THE RHYME OF THE THREE CAPTAINS 1890 [TUj iallaJ appears to rtftr to one of Iht exploit! of the notorious Paul Jones, an American pirate. It is founded onfacl.\ • • • ^T THE close of a winter day, Their anchors down, by London town, the Three Great Captains lay; And one was Admiral of the North from Sol'way Firth to Skve And one was Lord of the Wessex coast and all the lands therebv, 382 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Ai;d one was Master of the Thames from Limehouse to Black- wall, And he was Chaplain of the Fleet— the bravest of them all Their good guns guarded their great grey sides that were tliirtv foot in the sheer, When there came a certain trading brig with news of a priva- teer. Her rigging was rough with the clotted drift that drives in a Northern breeze. Her sides were clogged with the lazy weed that spawns in the Eastern seas. Light she rode in the rude tide-rip, to left and right she rolled. And the skipper sat on the scuttle-butt and stared at an empty hold. "I ha' paid Port dues for your Law," quoth he, "and where is the Law ye boast " If I sail unscathed from a heathen port to be robbed on a Christian coast? "Ye have smoked the hives of the Laccadives as we burn the lice in a bunk, "We tack not now for a Gallang prow or a plunging Pei-ho junk; "I had no fear but the seas were clear as far as a sail mieht fare ^ "Till I met with a lime-washed Yankee brig that rode off Finisterre. "There were canvas blinds to his bow-gun ports to screen the weight he bore, "And the signals ran for a merchantman from Sandy Hook to the Nore. "He would not fly the Rovers' flag— the bloody or the black But now he floated the Gridiron and now he flaunted the Jack. "He spoke of the Law as he crimped my crew— he swore it was only a loan; "But when I would ask for my own again, he swore it was none of my own. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 38.1 "He has taken my little parrakeetsthat nest beneath the Line, "He his stripped my rails of the shaddock-frails and the green unripened pine. "He has taken my bale of dammer and spice I won beyond the seas, "He has taken my grinning heathen gods— and what should he want o' these? "My foremast would not mend his boom, my deck-house patch his boats; "He has whittled the two, this Yank Yahoo, to peddle for shoe-peg oats. "I cc-'d not fight for the failing light and a rough beam-sea beside, "But I hulled him once for a clumsy crimp and twice "because he lied. "Had I had guns (as 1 had goods) to work my Christian harm, "I had run him up from his quarter-deck to trade with his own yard-arm; "I had nailed his ears to my capstan-head, and ripped them off with a saw, ".'ind soused them in the bilgewater, and served them to him raw; "I had flung him blind in a rudderless boat to rot in !e rock- ing dark, "I had towed him aft of his own craft, a bait for his brother shark; "I had lapped him round with cocoa-husk, and drenched him with the oil, "And lashed him fast his own mast to blaze above my spoil; " I had stripped his hide for my hammock-side, and tasselled his beard in the mesh, "And spitted his crew on the live bamboo that grows through the gangrened flesh-, '1 had hove him down by the mangroves brown, where the niud-recf sucks and draws. 384 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE " Moored by the heel to his own keel to wai t for the land-crab's claws. "He is lazar within and lime without; ye can nose him far enow, "For he carries the taint of a musky ship — the reek of the slaver's dhow." The skipper looked at the tiering guns and the bulwarks tall and cold, And the Captains Three full courteously peered down at the gutted hold, And the Captains Three called courteously from deck to scuttle-butt: — "Good Sir, we ha' dealt with that merchantman or ever your teeth were cut. "Your words be words of a lawless race, and the Law it standeth thus: "He comes of a race that have never a Law, and he nevt;- has boarded us. "We ha' sold him canvas and rope and spar — we know that his price is fair, "And we know that he weeps for the lack of a Law as he rides off Finisterre. "And since he is damned for a gallows-thief by you and better than you, "We hold it meet that the English fleet should know that we hold him true." The skipper called to the tall taffrail; — "And what is that to me? "Did ever you hear of a Yankee brig that rifled a Seventy- three ? "Do I loom so large from your quarter-deck that I lift like a ship o' the Line? "He has learned to run from a shotted gun and harry such craft as mine. "There is never a law on the Cocos Keys, to hold a white man in. »■:! INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 385 "But we do not steal the niggers' meal, for that is a nigger's sin. "Must he have his Law as a quid to chaw, or laid in brass on his wheel? "Does he steal with tears when he buccaneers? 'Fore Gad, then, why does he steal?" The skipper bit on a deep-sea word, and the word it was not sweet, For he could see the Captains Three had signalled to the Fleet. But three and two, in white and blue, the whimpering flags began : — "We have heard a tale of a — foreign sail, but he is a mer- chantman." The skipper peered beneath his palm and swore by the Great Horn Spoon: — " 'Fore Gad, the Chaplain of the Fleet would bless my pica- roon!" By two and three the flags blew free to lash the laughing air: — "VVc have sold cur spars to the merchantmen — we know that- his price is fair." The skipper winked his Western eye, and swore by a China storm : — "They ha" rigged him a Joseph's jury-coat to keep his honour warm." The halliards twanged against the tops, the bunting bellied broad. The skipper spat in the empty hold and mourned for a wasted cord. Masthead — masthead, the signal sped by the line o' the Brit- ish craft: The skipper called to his Lascar crew, and put her about and laughed : — "It's mainsail haul, my bully boys all — we'll out to the seas again — "Ere they set us to paint their pirate saint, or scrub at his grapnel-chain. 386 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE "It's fore-sheet free, with her head to the sea, and the swing of the unbouyht brine — " We'll make no sport in an English court till we come as a ship o' the Line: "Till we come as a ship o' the Line, my lads, of thirty foot in the ^lieer, "Lifting again from the outer main with news of a privateer; I' Flying his pluck at our mizzcn-truck for weft of Admiralty' "Heaving his head for our dipsy-lead in sign that we keep the sea. "Then fore-sheet home as she lifts to the foam — we stand on the outward tack, "We are paid in the coin of the white man's trade — the bezant is hard, ay, and black. "The frigate-bird shall carry my word to the Kling and the Orang-Laut "How a man may sail from a heathen coast to be robbed in a Christian port; "How a man may be robbed in Christian port while Three Great Captains there "Shall dip their flag to a slaver's rag— to show that his trade is fair!" THE CONUNDRUM OF THE WORKSHOPS 1890 ■y^HEN the flush of a new-born sun fell first on Eden's green and gold, Our father Adam sat under the Tree and scratched with a stick in the mould; And the first rude sketch that the world had seen was joy to his mighty heart, Till the Devil whispered behind the leaves, "It's pretty, but is it Art?" INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 387 Wherefore he called to his wife, and fled to fashion his work anew — The first of his race who carred a fig ■'""" the first, most dread review; And he left his lore to the use of his sons— and that was a glorious gain When the Devil chuckled "Is it Art?" in the ear of the branded Cain. They builded a tower to shiver the sky and wrench the stars apart, Till the Devil grunted behind the bricks: "It's striking, but is it Art?" The stone was dropped at the quarry-side and the idle derrick swung. While each man talked of the aims of Art, and each in an alien tongue. They fought and they talked in the North and the South; they talked and they fought in the West, Till the waters rose on the pitiful land, and the poor Red Clay had rest — Had rest till that dank blank-canvas dawn when the dove was preened to start, And the Devil bubbled below the keel: "It's human, but is it Art?" The tale is as old as the Eden Tree — and new as the new-cut tooth — For each man knows ere his lip-thatch grows he is master of Art and Truth; And each man hears as the twilight nears, to the beat of his dying heart. The Devil drum on the darkened pane: "You did it, but was itArtr" 388 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE We have learned to whittle the Eden Tree to the shape of a surplice-peg, We have learned to bottle our parents twain in the yelk of an addled egg, We know that the tail must wag the dog, for the horse is drawn by the cart; But the Devil whoops, as he whooped of old: " It's clever, but is it Art?" When the flicker of London sun falls faint on the Club-room's green and gold, The sons of Adam sit them down and scratch with their pens in the mould — They scratch with their pens in the mould of their graves, and the ink and the anguish start. For the Devil mutters behind the leaves: "It's pretty, but is it Art?" Now, if we could win to the Eden Tree where the Four Great Rivers flow. And the Wreath of Eve is red on the turf as she left it long ago. And if we could come when the sentry slept and softly scurry through, By the favour of God we might know as much — as our father Adam knew! EVARRA AND HIS GODS I 8 9 o J^EJD here: This is the story of Evarra — man — Maker of Gods in lands beyond the sea. Because the city gave him of her gold. Because the caravans brought turquoises, INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 389 Because his life was sheltered by the King, So that no man should maim him, none should steal, Or break his rest with babble in the streets When he was weary after toil, he made An image of his God in gold and pearl. With turquoise diadem and human eyes, A wonder in the sunshine, known afar, And worshipped by the King; but, drunk with pride, Because the city bowed to him for God, He wrote above the shrine: " Thus Gods are made, "And whoso makes them otherwise shall die." And all the city praised him. . . . Then he died. Read here the story 0/ Evarra — man — Maker of Gods in lands beyond the sea. Because the city had no wealth to give. Because the caravans were spoiled afar, Because his life was threatened by the King, So that all men despised him in the streets, He hewed the living rock, with sweat and tears. And reared a God against the morning-gold, A terror in the sunshine, seen afar. And worshipped by the King; but, drunk with pride. Because the city fawned to bring him back. He carved upon the plinth: " Thus Gods are made, "And whoso makes them otherwise shall die. " And all the people praised him. . . . Then he died. Read here the story of Evarra — man — Maker of Gods in lands beyond the sea. Because he lived among a simple folk. Because his village was between the hills. Because he smeared his cheeks with blood of ewes, He cut an idol from a fallen pine. Smeared blood upon its cheeks, and wedged a shell Above its brow for eye, and gave it hair 390 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Of trailing moss, and plaited straw for crown. And all the village praised him for this craft, And brought him butter, honey, milk, and curds. Wherefore, because the shoutings drove him mad, He scratched upiin that log: " Thus Gods are made, "And whoso makes Ihem olherwise shall die." And all the people praised him. . . . Then he died. Read here the story of Evarro — man — Maker of Gods in lands beyond the sea. Because his God decreed one clot of blood Should swerve one hair's-breadth from the pulse's path, And chafe his brain, Evarra mowed alone. Rag-wrapped, among the cattle in the fields, Counting his fingers, jesting with the trees, And mocking at the mist, until his God Drove him to labour. Out of dung and horns Dropped in the mire he made a monstrous God, Uncleanly, shapeless, crowned with plantain tufts. And when the cattle lowed at twilight-time. He dreamed it was the clamour of lost crowds, And howled among the beasts: " Thus Gods are made, "And whoso makes them otherwise shall die." Thereat the cattle bellowed. . , . Then he died. Yet at the last he came to Paradise, .And found his own four Gods, and that he wrote; And marvelled, being very near to God, What oaf on earth had made his toil God's law, Till God said mocking: "Mock not. Thesu be thine." Then cried Evarra: "I have sinned!" "Not so. "If thou hadst written otherwise, thy Gods "Had rested in the mountain and the mine, ".And I were poorer by four wondrous Gods, ''And thy more wondrous law, Evarra. Thine, "Servant of shouting crowds and lowing kine!" INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 391 Thereat, with laughing mouth, hut tear-wet eyes, Evarra cast his Gods from Paradise. Thii is Ihe slory of Evarra— man- Maker of Gods in lands beyond Ihe sea. THE BENEFACTORS ^H ! IVhat avails the classic bent And what the cultured word, Against the undoctored incident That actually occurred 'f And what is Art whereto we press Through paint and prose and rhyme — Ifhen Nature in her nakedness Defeats us every lime ? It is not learning, gr.icc- nor gear, Nor easy meat and drink, But bitter pinch of pain and fear That makes creation think When in this world's unpleasing youth Our god-like race began. The longest arm, the sharpest tooth, Gave man control of man; Till, bruised and bitten to the bone And taught by pain and fear. He learned to deal the far-off stone. And poke the long, safe spear. 39» RUDYARD KIPLING S VERSE So tooth and nail were ubwlete As means against a foe, Till, bored by uiiifdrm defeat, Some genius built the bow. Then jtonc and javelin proved as vain As old-time tooth and nail; Till, spurred anew by fear and pain, Man fashioned coats of mail. Then was there safety for the rich And danger for the poor. Till someone mixed a powder which Redressed the scale once more. Helmet and armour disappeared With sword and bow and pike. And, when the smoke of battle cleared. All men were armed alike. . And when ten million such were slain To please one crazy king, Man, schooled in bulk by fear and pain. Grew weary of the thing; And, at the very hour designed. To enslave him past recall, His tooth-stone-arrow-gun-shy mind Turned and abolished all. All Power, each Tyrant, every Mob IVhose head has grown too large, Ends by destroying its own job And works its own discharge; INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 ^nd Man, whosf mo, necessititt A/oir all Mugs /nm his path, TrtmhUs mtaimhile at their Jecreei, And deprecali-s their wrath ! J'>J IN THE NEOLITHIC AGE 1895 IN THE Neolithic Age savage warfare did I waKc hor food and fame and woolly horses' pelf I *'" >mgcr to my clan in that dim. red Dawn of Man, And I sang of all we fought and feared and felt. ^M.V"/? ''•l"rn' "'"«• *•"=" '■"= P^hi'tonc spring .-^nd th^troll and gnome and dwerg, and the G«ls of Cliff and Were about me and beneath nK and above But a rival of Solutr*, told the tribe my style was outrf- Nea ha tomahawk, ofdiorite, he fell. And I left^my views on Art, barbed and tanged, below the Of a mammothistic etcher at Crenelle. Then I "gripped them, scalp from skull, and my hunting dogs And their teeth I threaded neatly on a thong; And I w,f«d my mouth and said, "It is well that they are "For I know my work is right and theirs was wrong." 394 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE But my Totem saw the shame; from his ridgepole-shrine he came, And he told me in a vision of the night: — "There are nine and sixty ways of constructing tribal lavs, "And every single one of them is right!" Then the silence closed upon me till They put new clothing on me Of whiter, weaker flesh and bone more frail; And I stepped beneath Time's finger, once again a tribal singer. And a minor poet certified by Traill. Still they skirmish to and fro, men my messmates on the snow. When we headed off the aurochs turn for turn; When the rich AUobrogenses never kept amanuenses, And our only plots were piled in lakes at Berne. Still a cultured Christian age sees us scuffle, squeak, and rage, Still we pinch and slap and jabber, scratch and dirk; Still we let our business slide — as we dropped the half-dressed hide — To show a fellow-savage how to work. Still the world is wondrous large, — seven seas from marge to marge — And it holds a vast of various kinds of man; And the wildest dreams of Kew are the facts of Khatmandhu, ■ And the crimes of Clapham chaste in Martaban. Here's my wisdom for your use, as I learned it when the moose And the reindeer roared where Paris roars to-night: — " There are nine and sixty ways of constructing tribal lays, "And — every — single — one — of — them — is — right!" INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 395 NAT'.;;;. I, theology J ATE my fili ot a vv„u!- that died And stranded after a month at sea. There is a pain in my inside. Why have the Gods afflicted me? Ow! I am purged till I am a wraith! Wow! I am sick till I cannot see! What is the sense of Religion and Faith? Look how the Gods have afflicted me! PAGAN How can the skin of rat or mouse hold Anything more than a harmless flea? . . , The burning plague has taken my household. Why have my Gods afflicted me? All my kith and kin are deceased, Though they were as good as good could be, I will out and batter the family priest. Because my Gods have afflicted me! MEDI.TVAL My privy and well drain into each other After the custom of Christendie. . . Fevers and fluxes are wasting my mother. Why has the Lord afflicted me? The Saints are helpless for all I oflFer— So are the clergy I used to fee. Henceforward I keep my cash in my coffer, Because the Lord has afflicted me. 396 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE MATERIAL I run eight hundred hens to the acre They die by dozens mysteriously. . . I am more than doubtful concerning my Maker Why has the Lord afflicted me? What a return for all my endeavour- Not to mention the L. S. D! I am an atheist now and for ever, Because this God has afflicted me! PROGRESSIVE Money spent on an Army or Fleet Is homicidal lunacy. . . My son has been killed in the Mens retreat. Why is the Lord afflicting me? Why are murder, pillage and arson And rape allowed by the Deity? I will write to the Times, deriding our parson Because my God ho? arfiicted me. CHORUS We had a kettle: we let it leak: Our not repairing it made it worse. We haven't had any tea for a week. The bottom is out of the Universe! CONCLUSION This was none of the good Lord's pleasure. For the Spirit He breathed in Man is free; But what comes after is measure for measure. And not a God that afflicteth thee. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 397 As was the sowing so the reaping Is now and evermore shall be.^ Thou art delivered to thine own keeping Only Thyself hath afflicted thee! THE STORY OF UNG I 894 QNCE, on a glittering ice-field, ages and ages ago, P«h;„n"H 1>!"f" "f P'""i:f . fchioned an image of snow. Fashioned the form of a tnbesman-gaily he whistled and sung, Working the snow with his fingers. Readye the story of Ung ! Pleased was his tribe with that image-came in their hundreds to scan— Handled it, smelt it, and grunted: "Verily, this is a man! _ Ihus do we carry our lances-thus is a war-belt slune Lo! It IS even as we are. Glory and honour to Ung!" Later he pictured an aurochs-later he pictured a bear- Fictured the sabre-tooth tiger dragging a man to his lair- l-ictured the mountamous mammoth, hairy, abhorrent alone — ' Out of^the love that he bore them, scriving them clearly on Swift camejiis tribe to behold them, peering and pushing and Men of^theberg-battered beaches, men of the boulder-hatched Hunters and fishers and trappers, presently whispering low: Yea, they are hke-and it may be. But how dols the Picture-man know? f 398 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE "Ung— hath he slept with the Aurochs— watched where the Mastodon roam? "Spoke on the ice with the Bow-head —followed the Sabre- tooth home? "Nay! These are toys of his fancy 1 If he have cheated us so, "How is there truth in his image — rhj man that he fashioned of snow?" Wroth was that maker of pictures — hotly he answered the call: "Hunters and fishers and trappers, children and fools are ye all! "Look at the beasts when ye hunt them!" Swift from the tumult he broke, Ran to the cave of his father and told him the shame that they spoke. And the father of Ung gave answer, that was old and wise in the craft. Maker of pictures aforetime, he leaned on his lance and laughed "If they could see as thou seest they would do what thou hast done, "And each man would make him a picture, and — what would become of my son? "There would be no pelts of the reindeer, flung down at thy cave for a gift, "Nor dole of the oily timber that comes on the Baltic drift; "No store of well-drilled needles, nor ouches of amber pale; "No new-cut tongues of the bison, nor meat of the stranded whale. " Thou hast not toiled at the fishing when the sodden trammels freeze, " Nor worked the war-boats outward through the rush of the rock-staked seas, INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 399 "Yet they bring thee fish and plunder— full meal and an easy bed — "And all for the sake of thy pictures." And Una held down his head. " Thou has not stood to the Aurochs when the red snow reeks of the fight. " Men have no time at the houghing to count his curls aright. And the heart of the hairy Mammoth, thou sayest, they do not sec, "Yet they save it whole from the beaches and broil the best for thee. "And now do they press to thy pictures, with opened mouth and eye, "And a little gift in the doorway, and the praise no gift can buy: "But— sure they have doubted thy pictures, and that is a grievous stain — "Son that can see so clearly, return them their gifts again!" And Ung looked down at his deerskins— their broad shell- tasselled bands — And Ung drew forward his mittens and looked at his naked hands; And he gloved himself and departed, and he heard his father, behind: "Son that can see so clearly, rejoice that thy tribe is blind!" Straight on the glittering ice-field, by the caves of the lost Dordogne, Ung, a maker of pictures, fell to his scriving on bone- Even to mammoth editions. Gaily he whistled and sung Blessmg his tribe for their blindness. Heed ye the Story of Ung! I I 400 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE THE CRAFTSMAN QNCE, after long-drawn revel at The Mermaid, He to the overbearing Boanerges Jonsoii, uttered (if half of it were liquor, Blessed be the vintage!) Saying how, at an alehouse under Cotswold, He had made sure of his very Cleopatra, Drunk with enormous, salvation-contemning Love for a tinker. How, while he hid from Sir Thomas's keepers, Crouched in a ditch and drenched by the midnight Dews, he had listened to gipsy Juliet Rail at the dawning. How at Bankside, a boy drowning kittens Winced at the business; whereupon his sister Lady Macbeth aged seven— thrust 'em under, Sombrely scornful. How on a Sabbath, hushed and compassionate — She being known since her birth to the townsfolk- Stratford dredged and delivered from Avon Dripping Ophelia. So, with a thin third finger marrying Drop to wine-drop domed on the table, Shakespeare opened his heart till the sunrise- Entered to hear him. London wakened and he, imperturbable, Passed from waking to hurry after shadows . . . Busied upon shows of no earthly importance;' Yes, but he knew it! 4° I INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 THE FILES ' 903 (nt Sub^diior Speaks) piLES- The Files — Office Files! Oblige me by referring to the Files, tvery question man can raise, Every phrase oi every phase Of that question is on record in the Files- Was our new-tipped arrows' targe— Ere we rediscovered Mammon and his wiles- lYT^'fT^^ ['*''"■• 'P""' her-five-and-twentieth leader- (Vou w,l find h,m, and some others, in the Files) Warn all coming Robert Brownings and Carlyles It will interest them to hunt among the Files VVhere unvisited, a-cold. Lie the crowded years of old In that Kensall-Green of greatness called the Files an our newspaPere-la-Chaise the Office Files), Where the dead men lay them down Meekly sure of long renown, And above them, sere and swift. Packs the daily deepening drift ' Of the all-recording, all-effacing Files- ine obliterating, automatic Files. Count the mighty men who slung Ink, Evangel, Sword, or Tongue When Reform and you were young— (ut 't'^^'^'r'^ ^P"''^ """^ding i" the Files- (Hear the ghosts that wake applauding in the Files!) 1 I H 402 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Trace each all- forgot career From long primer through brevier Unto Death, a para minion in the Files (Para minion— solid— bottom of the Files). . . Some successful Kings and Queens adorn the Files. They were great, their views were leaded, And their deaths were triple-headed. So they catch the eye in running through the Files (Show as blazes in the mazes of the Files); For their "paramours and priests," And their gross, jack-booted feasts. And their "epoch-marking actions" see the Files. Was it Bomba fled the blue Sicilian isles? Was it Saffi, a professor Once of Oxford, brought redress or Garibaldi!' Who remembers Forty-odd-year-old Septembers?— Only sextons paid to dig among the Files (Such as I am, born and bred among the Files). You must hack through much deposit Ere you know for sure who was it Came to burial with such honour in the Files (Only seven seasons back beneath the Files). "Very great our loss andgrievous — "So our best and brightest leave us, "And it ends the Age of Giants," say the Files; All the '60— '70— '80— '90 Files (The open-minded, opportunist Files— The easy "O King, live for ever" Files). It is good to read a little in the Files; 'Tis a sure and sovereign balm Unto philosophic calm. Yea, and philosophic doubt when Life beguiles. When you know Success is Greatness, When you marvel at your lateness In apprehending facts so plain to Smiles (Self-helpful, wholly strenuous Samuel Smiles). INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 403 When your Imp of Blind Dtslre Bkis you sut the Thames afire, Vou'll remember men have clone so-in tl,e Kiles ^ ™ 11 have seen fho,se.^Han,es transpire -ir, ^,e Piles Vh ''^•■";. ""^■^"'^" «"<"' h^'^ run so -in the Files). wncn the i-omlimKirian horns Ot the rcboantic N'orns L'sher gentlemen and i.itlies With new lights on Heaven and Hades, Guaranteeing to Eternity All yesterday's modernity; When Brocken-spectres made by Some one's breath on ink parade by, Very earnest and tremendous. Let not shows of shows offend us. When of everything we like we Shout ecstatic: '•^uod ubi' "^""ght our fathers And set them to labour too! "^5 '.'"«"' to work in the cornland _ VVith ploughs and sickles and flails l^ut them m mud-walled prisons And— cut off their beautiful tails! "Now, we can watch our fathers, ..£, ^""5" ""'' '«'*'-d and old, Stooping over the millet, "Sharing the silly mould, "Driving a foolish furrow, , "Mending a muddy yoke. Sleeping in mud-walled prisons Steepmg their food in smoke. "We may not speak with our fathers, , '' '' ™^ 'armers knew They would come up to the forest And set us to labour too." This is the horrible story ''old as the twilight fails And the monkeys walk together Holding their neighbours' tails. 405 4o6 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE II '■yWAS when the rain fell steady an' the Ark was pitched an' ready, That Noah got his onltrs for to take the bastes below; He dragged them all together by the horn an' hide an' feather, An' all txcipt the Donkey was agreeable to go. First Noah spoke him fairly, thin talked to him sevarcly, An' thin he cursed him squarely to the glory av the lx)rd: "Divil take the ass that bred you, and the greater ass that fed you — "Divil go wid ye, ye spalpeen!" an' the Donkey wint aboard. But the wind was always failin', an' 'twas most onaisy sailin', .^n' the ladies in the cabin couldn't stand the stable air; An' the bastes bctwuxt the hatches, they tuk an' died in batches. Till Noah said:— "There's wan av us that hasn't paid his fare!" For he heard a flusteration 'mid the bastes av all creation — The trumpetin' av elephints an' bellowin' av whales; An' he saw forninst the windy whin he wint to stop the shindy The Divil wid a stable-fork was bedivillin' their tails. The Divil cursed outrageous, but Noah said umbrageous: — "To what am I indebted for this tenant-right invasion?" An' the Divil gave for answer: "Evict me if you can, sir, "For I came in wid the Donkey — on Your Honour's invitation." INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 407 PAN' /\ VKRMONT I 8 'J 3 . Mwut iht I 5,h of thii month you may txMct „..r \l, l l 'Vk'"k'- n '*" ''""^'; '"-''"y '*"= "Po^'ing eaves declare. The boulders nose above the drifrthe ,^u,hern slop^I'are iac '''g^h' ^^VY""'" "^ ^"'"t- -rth al,.ng the /od ■ac. Good lack, the Sprmg is back, and Pan is on f he road ! Ap.s from the bull-pen lows-he knows his brother God! Now down^tk. lines of tasselled pines the yearning whispers Pitys of old thy love behold. Come in for Hermes' sake' How long^s,nce that so-Boston boot with reeling M^ds Let be the rest. Pipe and we pay, O Pan. '"' denused?*''' '''''°'' '"'' *'°"yh°cks ere half a month •IWh''°"^'' '"■^'""P^'°P'is clambered not as advertised' I hough every seed was guaranteed and every standard t^e- ^orget, forg,ve they did not live! Believe,^nd buy an^w!) Su°rh b'r ' Tt'' ''""" *'" "'"g^ f''^ P^i^ed page abroad- Su h fruTpomtr"\'^l''^''^''' ''''^ ''^' "''Elen Sword; ^uch truit Pomona marks her own, yea. Liber oversees That we may reach (one dollar each) the Lost HesperTdes! r !i I i 408 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Serene, assenting, unabashed, he writes our orders down: — Blue Asphodel on all our paths — a few true bays for crown — Uncankered bud, immortal flower, and leaves that never fall — Apples of Gold, of Youth, of Health — and — thank you, Pan, that's all. He's oflf along the drifted pent to catch the Windsor train, And swindle every citizen from Keene to Lake Champlain; But where his goat's-hoof cut the crust — beloved, look below — He's left us (I'll forgive him all) the may-flower 'neath her snow! VERSES ON GAMES (To an Almanac of Twelve Sports by W. Nicholson, 1 898.) fJERE is a horse to tame Here is a gun to handle — God knows you can enter the game If you'll only pay for the same, And the price of the game is a candle — /I single flickering candle ! January {Hunting) Certes, it is a noble sport. And men have quitted selle and swum for't. But I am of the meeker sort And I prefer Surtees in comfort. Reach me my Handley Cross again, My run, where never danger lurks, is With Jorrocks and his deathless train — g, Binjimin, and Artexerxes. February (Coursing) Most men harry the world for fun- Each man seeks it a difl^erent way. .!l INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 3ut "of all daft devils under the sun, A greyhound's the daftest" says Jorrocks J. 409 March (Racing) The horse is ridden— the jockey rides— The backers back — the owners own But . . , there are lots of things beside, And / should let this game alone. April {Rowing} The Pope of Rome he could not win From pleasant meats and pleasant sin These who, replying not, submit Unto the curses of the pit Which that stern coach (oh, greater shame) Flings forth by number not by name. Can Triple Crown or Jesuit's oath Do what one wrathful trainer doth? May (Fishing) Behold a parable. A fished for B C took her bait; her heart being set on D. Thank heaven who cooled your blood and cramped your wishes, Men and not Gods torment you, little fishes! Ju.vE (Cricket) Thank God who made the British Isles And taught me how to play, I do not worship crocodiles. Or bow the knee to clay ! Give me a willow wand and I With hide and cork and twine From century to century Will gambol round my shrine! JiLY (Archery) The child of the Nineties considers with laughter The maid whom his sire in the Sixties ran after. While careering himself in pursuit of a girl whom The Twenties will dub a "last century heirloom." 4IO RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Algust (Coaching) The Pious Horse to church may trot, A maid may work a man's salvation .... Four horses and a girl are not, However, roads to reformation. September (Shooting) " Peace upon Earth, Goodwill to men ' So greet we Christmas Day! Oh, Christian, load your gun and then Oh, Christian, out and slay. October (Go//) Why Golf is art and art is Golf We have not far to seek — So much depends upon the lie, So much upon the cleek. November (Boxing) Read here the moral roundly writ For him who into battle goes — Each soul that hitting hard or hit, Endureth gross or ghostly foes. Prince, blown by many overthrows Half blind with shame, half choked with dirt Man cannot tell, but Allah knows How much the other side was hurt ! December (Skating) Over the ice she flies Perfect and poised and fair. Stars in my true-love's eyes Teach me to do and dare. Now will I fly as she flies — Woe for the stars that misled. Stars I beheld in her eyes. Now do I see in my head! INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 Now av must come away. IV/iat are you out of pocket ? 'Sorry to spoil your plav But somebody 'says iiy must pay And the candles down to the socket- Its horrible tallowy socket. 411 TOMLINSON I 8 9 I N^^^Squat"'"" ^''' "P *'^^ S''°^' '" '''■^ ''""''^ '" Berkeley And a^S^irit 'came to his bedside and gripped him bv the Milky Way ""^ ™" °^ '^'^ ™ ''a'ndtat "" °' ''' ""''' "^"^ '^'^ ''°*" "'i 'i-- """" ''trkryl'" ""' """' "'''" ''^ ^''" ^''-^ P«er holds "Stand-up, stand up now, Tomlinson, and answer loud and "The gooc^that ye did for the sake of men or ever ye came to "The good^that ye did for the sake of men in little earth so And the n^aked soul of Tomlinson grew white as a rain-washed ■'Olha^e^afnend on earth --he said, "thatwasmypHestand "And well w'ould he answer all for me if he were at my side." !|l 41* RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE — "For that ye strove in neighbour-love it shall be written fair, "But now ye wait at Heaven's Gate and not in Berkeley Square: "Though we called your friend from his bed this night, he could not speak for you, " For the race is run by one and one and never by two and two." Then. Tomlinson looked up and down, and little gain was there, I'Vir the naked stars grinned overhead, and he saw that his soul was bare. Tlie Wind that blows between the Worlds, it cut him like a knife, .'\nd Tomlinson took up the tale and spoke of his good in life. ' '"* this I have read in a book," he said, " and that was told to me, ".^nd this I have thought that another man thought of a Prince in Muscovy." The good souls flocked like homing doves and bade him clear the path. And Peter twirled the jangling Keys in weariness and wrath. "Ye have read, ye have heard, ye have thought," he said, "and the tale is yet to run: " By the worth of the body that once ye had, give answer — what ha' ye done?" Then Tomlinson looked back and forth, and little good it bore, For the darkness stayed at his shoulder-blade and Heaven's Gate before: — "O this I have felt, and this I have guessed, and this I have heard men say, ".And this they wrote that another man wrote of a carl in Norroway." "Ye have read, ye have felt, ye have guessed, good lack! Ye h.n v hampered Heaven's Gate; "There's little room between the stars in idleness to prate! [y|j||&j INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 "Or 413 .n^e may reach by hired speech of neighbour, priest, and '"^''"'withinr""' '''"' '° ^"^'" ^'^ '"'"' '''" "" ^° ^'" "^"'"j'rt'oi'n,"" *" '^' ^°"' °^^^'™"S' ^°'- '^^ '1°°'" has "And the faith that vcsh uphddyo^Sr/^' ^"^^^ "''''• '-^^'^^^1-- Till T"' ^"^'''"^ 'T !•>■ '^' *•"'■■• ""'' ™" l^y -^U" they fell The first are red with pride and wrath, the next ar. white with P > But the third are black with clinkered sins that cannot burn u^ain. "'^^::!;e!:'^'ic:^i;^:^t*''^^->'-^Heir path, with ' ''' "7^'S:::;Zi!'''' ''-' "'"" "°' -- '" ^'- Scorn '''" ''the bonl,'''°"' '"^'""" ""^ '''°^''^^' " "'PP^'' hi- to And he yearned' to the flare of Hell-gate there as the light of nrs own hearth-stone 6'"^"' The De^vH^e sat behind the bars, where the desperate legions ^"^ '''through."'' '"'''"^ '"""'''"^"" =•'"' -™''' -t •" hin, •; W,t ye the price of good pit-coal that I must pay?" said he • ?^am iV- T"''?.° '^^ ^" "'=" '""' ='^k "° leave o me P' I --"^^jl^o er-s,b to Adam's breed that ye should give me "^'" ^waTbln'*'' ^ ^°' ^°"^ ^'"'' Father the day that he "Sit down, sit down upon the slas, and answer loud and high 4'4 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE "The harm that ye did to the Sons of Men or ever you came to die." And Tomlinson looked up and up, and saw against the night The belly of a tortured star blood-red in Hell-Mouth light; And Tomlinson looked down and down, and saw beneath his feet The frontlet of a tortured star milk-white in Hell-Mouth heat. "01 had a love on earth," said he, "that kissed me to my fall; "And if ye woidd call my love to me I know she would answer all." — "All that ye did in love forbid it shall be written fair, "But now ye wait at Hell-Mouth Gate and not in Berkeley Square: "Though we whistled your love from her bed to-night, I trow she would not run, "For the sin ye do by two and two ye must pay for one by one!" The Wind that blows between the Worlds, it cut him like a knife. And Tomlinson took up the tale and spoke of his sins in life: — "Once I ha' laughed at the power of Love and twice at the grip of the Grave, "And thrice I ha' patted my God on the head that men might call me brave." The Devil he blew on a brandered soul and set it aside to cool ; — "Do ye think I would waste my good pit-coal on the hide of a brain-sick fool ? "I see no worth in the hobnailed mirth or the jolthead jest ye did "That I should waken my gentlemen that are sleeping three on a grid." Then Tomlinson looked back and forth, and there was little grace. For Hell-Gate filled the houseless soul with the Fear of Naked Space. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 4,5 "Nay. this I ha- heard," quo' Tomlinson, "and this was noised abroad, "And this I ha' got from a Belgian book en the word of a dead rrench lord. -"Ye ha' heard, ye ha' read, ye ha' got, g-■ May be ha.led-at a price-on the road to Fn-dor. But they are so deep in their new eclipse Nothing they say can reach, Unless it be uttered by alien lips And framed in a stranger's speech. The son must send word to the mother that bor. Through an hireling's mouth. 'Tis the role of E^-dor. 418 RUDYARD KIPLING S VERSE And not for nothing these gifts are shown By such as delight our dead. They must twitch and stiffen and slaver and groan Ere the eyes are set in the head, And the voice from the belly begins. Therefore, We pay them a wage where they ply at En-dor. Even so, we have need of faith And patience to follow the clue. Often, at first, what the dear one saith Is babble, or jest, or untrue. (Lying spirits perplex us sore Till our loves — and their lives — are well-known En^or). ... Oh the road to En-Jor is the oldest road And the craziest road of all ! Straight it runs to the ff itch's aiode, /ts it did in the days of Saul, And nothing has changed of the sorrow in store For such as go down on the road to En-dor ! at ?t THE FEMALE OF THE SPECIES 1911 \X7'HEN the Himalayan peasant meets the he-bear in his ^^ pride He shouts to sea. the monster, who wi'l often turn aside. But the she-bear thus accosted rends thf, peasant tooth and nail. For the female of the species is more df adly than the male. When Nag the basking cobra hears the careless foot of man, He will sometimes wriggle sideways and avoid it if he can. INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 419 But his mate makes no such motion where she camps beside the trail. For the female of the species is more deadly than the male. When the early Jesuit fathers preached to Hurons and Choc- taws, They prayed to be ilelivered from the vengeance of the squaws. 'Twas the women, not the warriors, turned those stark en- thusiasts pale. For the female of the species is more deadly than the male. Man's timid heart is bursting with the things he must nor say, tor the Woman that God gave him isn't his to give away But when hunter meets with husband, each confirms the other's tale — The female of the species is more deadly than the male. Man, a bear in most relations— worm and savage otherwise — Man propounds negotiations, Man accepts the compromise. Very rarely will he squarely push the logic of a fact To its ultimate conclusion in unmitigated act. Fear, or foolishness, impels him, ere he lav the wicked low. To concede some form of trial even to his fiercest foe. Mirth obscene diverts his anger— Doubt and Pitv oft perplex Him in dealing with an issue— to the scandal ofThe Sex! But the Woman that God gave him, every fibre of her frame Proves her launched for one sole issue, armed and engined for the same; And to serve that single issue, lest the generations fail. The female of the species must be deadlier than the male. She who faces Dc.ith by torture for each life beneath her breast May not deal in doubt or pity— must not swerve for fact or jest. 420 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE These be purely male diversions— not in these her honour dwells. She the Other Law we live by, is that Law and nothing else. She can bring no more to living than the powers that make her great .^s the Mother of the Infant and the Mistress of the Mate. .And when Babe and Man are lacking and she strides un- claimed to claim Her right as femme (and baron), her equipment is the same. She is wedded to convictions— in default of grosser ties; Her contentions are her children. Heaven help him wl.^j denies!— He will meet no suave discussion, but the in.stant, white-hor, wild, Wakened female of the species warring as for spouse and child. Unprovoked and awful charges — even so the she-bear fights. Speech that drips, corrodes, and poisons — even so the cobra bites. Scientific vivisection of one nerve till it is raw And the victim writhes in anguish — like the Jesuit with the squaw ! So it comes that Man, the coward, when he gathers to confer With his fellow-braves in council, dare not leave a place for her Where, at war with Life and Conscience, he uplifts his erring hands To some God of Abstract Justice — which no woman under- stands. INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 4:, And Man knows it! Knows, moreover, that tlu Woman that God gave him Must command but may not govern-shall enthral but not enslave nim. And She knows because She warns him, and Her instincts never fail, That the Female of Her Species is more deadly than the Male. A RECANTATION I 91 7 (to lyde or THE MUSIC halls) f^HAT boots it on the Gods to call! Since, answered or unheard, We perish with the Gods and all Things made— except the Word. Ere certain Fate had touched a heart By fifty years made cold, I judged thee, Lyde, and thy art O'erblown and over-bold. But he— but he, of whom bereft I suffer vacant days — He on his shield not meanly left- He cherished all thy lays. Witness the magic coffer stocked With convoluted runes Wherein thy very voice was locked .And linked to circling tunes. 422 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Witness thy portrait, smoke-defiled, That decked his shelter-place. Life seemed more present, wrote the child. Beneath thy well-known face. And when the grudging days restored Him for a breath to home. He, with fresh crowds of youth, adored Thee making mirth in Rome. Therefore, I humble, join the hosts, Loyal and loud, who bow To thee as Queen of Song — and ghosts. For I remember how Never more rampant rose the Hall At thy audacious line Than when the news came in from Gaul Thy son had — followed mine. But thou didst hide it in thy breast And, capering, took the brunt Of blaze and blare, and launched the jest That swept next week the front. Singer to children! Ours possessed Sleep before noon — but thee. Wakeful each midnight for the rest, No holocaust shall free! Yet they who use the Word assigned. To hearten and make whole. Not less than Cods have served mankind. Though vultures rend their soul. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 188S-1918 423 THE EXPLANATION 1890 J^OVE and Death once ceased their strife At the Tavern of Man's Life. Called for wine, and threw— alas!— Each his quiver on the grass. When the bout was o'er they found Mingled arrows strewed the ground. Hastily they gathered then Each the loves and lives of men. Ah, the "iteful dawn deceived! Mingled arrows each one sheaved. Death's dread armoi, y was stored With the shafts he most abhorred; Love's light quiver groaned beneath Venom-headed darts of Death. Thus it was they wrought our woe At the Tavern long ago. Tell me, do our masters know. Loosing blindly as they fly, Old men love while young men die? A PILGRIM'S WAY I R? "°,' ^°°^ '"'■ ^°^y ^"'"f '° e"'Je me on my way. Or male and female devilkins to lead my feet asiray It these are added, I rejoice-if not, I shall not mi id, So long as I have leave and choice to meet my fellow-kind. JHor as we come and as we go (and deadly-soon go we!) ihe people, Lord, Thy people, are good enough for me! m 1 1 4=4 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Thus I will honour pious men whose virtue shines so bright (Though none are more amazed than I when I by chance do right), And I will pity foolish men for woe their sins have bred (Though ninety-nine per cent, of mine I brought on my own head). And, Amorite or Eremite, or General .'\veragee. The people. Lord, Thy people, are good enough for me! And when they bore me overmuch, I will not shake mine ears, Recalling many thousand such whom I have bored to tears. And when they labour to impress, I will not doubt nor scoff; Since I myself have done no less and — sometimes pulled it off. Yea, as we are and we are not, and we pretend to be, The people, Lord, Thy people, are good enough for me! And when they work me random wrong, as oftentimes hath been, I will not cherish hate too long (my hands are none too clean). And when they do me random good I will not feign surprise. No more than those whom I have cheered with wayside charities. But, as we give and as we take — whate'er our takings be — The people. Lord, Thy people, are good enough for me I But when I meet with frantic folk who sinfully declare There is no pardon for their sin, the same I will not spare Till I have proved that Heaven and Hell which in our hearts we have Show nothing irredeemable on either side the grave. For as we live and as we die — if utter Death there be — The people. Lord, Thy people, are good enough for me! Deliver me from every pride — the Middle, High, and Low — That bars me from a brother's side, whatever pride he show. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 4,- Th&r' ');°'"v" ''^'■fi«.°f fh°"ght and speech and p.„ That bid me judge h.m otherwise than I am judged. .Imoi ' Tha' T 7^°^ Crowd or King or road-bi^rnlcompan; " That I may labour ,n my day, vocation and degree, i\ShZV\T"'l '"^'ir^ "=""«. ''"'1 hold unshakenlv rlw \ ' g°: "'''^/.'v'^'- I know, whoe'er n,y neighbour be) This smgle faith m L,fe and Death and to Eternify The people, Lord, Thy people, are good enough for m.l" THE ANSWER 1892 \ ROSE, in tatters on the garden path, Cried out to God and murmured 'gainst His Wrath Because a sudden wind at twilight's hush Had snapped her stem alone of all the bush And God, Who hears both sun-dried dust and sun Had pity, whispering to that luckless one Sister, in that thou sayest We did not well— \\ hat voices heardst thou when thy petals fell'" And the Rose answered, "In that evil hour A voice said, 'Father, wherefore falls the flower' _ tor lo, the very gossamers are still.' And a voice answered, 'Son, by Allah's Will!'" Then softly as a rain-mist on the sward Came to the Rose the Answer of the Lord- Sister, before We smote the Dark in twain Ere yet the stars saw one another plain •■Tir'f'J"''\*"'l .^P"-.'-"';,' ^^'^ ''°""'l ""W the task That thou shouldst fall, and such an one should ask." ^hereat the withered flower, all content, JJied as they die whose days are innocent: While he who questioned why the flower fell Caught hold of God and saved his soul from Hell i i t if 426 x'°"'' '°"g and get you dight To vow your vow and watch your arms, "For I will dub you a belted knight. "1°'^ ?,*'" S'^*^ y™ " ''°"e o' pride, •Mir^'i' '''*^°" *"'* 'P""" *"<1 P^gt^ ""d squire; Wi keep and tail and seizin and law, "And land to hold at your desire." True Thomas smiled above his harp, ^nd turned his face to the naked sky, Where, blown before the wastrel wind The thistle-down she floated by. "1 ha' vowed my vow in another place, "And bitter oath it was on me. "I ha' watched my arms the lee-long night, "Where five-score fighting men would flee. "'^y lance is tipped o' the hammered flame, _ My shield is beat o' the moonlight cold; 'And I won my spurs in the Middle World', "A thousand fathom beneath the mould.' 43* RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE "And what should I make »i' a horse o' pride, ^ "AnrI what should I make wi' a sword so brown, "But spill the rings o' the Gentle Folk "And flyte my kin in the Fairy Town? "And what should I make wi' blazon and belt, "Wi' keep and tail and seizin and fee, And what should 1 do wi' page and squire "That am a king in my own countrie? " For I send east and I Send west, "And I send far as my will may flee, "By dawn and dusk and the drinking rain, "And syne my Sendings return to me. '"They come wi' news of the groanin' earth, "They come wi' news o' the roarin' sea, "Wi' word of Spirit and Ghost and Flesh, "And man, that's mazetl among the three." The King he bit his nether lip, And smote his hand upon his knee: "By the faith o' my soul. True Thomas," he said, "Ye waste no wit in courtesie! "As I desire, unto my pride, "Can I make Earls by three and three, "To run before and ride behind "And serve the sons o' my body." 'And what care I for your row-foot earls, "Or all the sons o' your body? 'Before they win to the Pride o' Name, "I trow they all ask leave o' me. INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 ..T ^' ' ■"*« Shame wi' mintin' feet To 8,ng WI the priests at the markst'-cross Or run w,- the dogs in the naked street "And some they give me the gcxxi red gold. And some they g,ve me a clout o' meal For thev be people oflow degree. "And the song I sing for the counted gold The same I sing for the white money. But best I smg for the clout o- meal '^ Ihat simple people given me." The King cast down a silver groat __ A silver groat o' Scots money. ' "TnTru^'' " P°":, ""«"■» dole," he said, i rue Thomas, will ye harp to me i"' "Whenas I harp to the children smaiJ, I^hey press me close on either hand. And who are you •• True Thomas said, That you should ride while they must stand.' "Light down, light down from your horse o' nriH. "AndT^.r '"il'' '°° '"""^ ""'* hie ° P'"^'' And I will make you a triple word. And syne, if ye dare, ye shall 'noble me." , And set his back against the stone Now guard you well," True Thomas said, fere I rax your heart from your breast-bone!" 43 j i 434 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Tnif Thomas played upim his harp, Thf fairy harp that couMna kt-, Ami the Hrst least wdrI the pnnul Kitijt heard, It harpit the salt tear out o' his e'e. "Oh, I see the love that I lost Inni; sync, "I touch the hope that 1 mav not see, 'Ami all that 1 liiii ot hiililen shame, "Like little snakes thev hiss at me. "The sun is lost at ntKin — at noon! "The dread o' doom has grippit me. "True Thomas, hide me under your cloak, "God wot, I'm little tit to deel" 'Twas tent beneath and blue aboce — 'Tuias open field and running flood — Where, hot on heath and dyke and wall. The high sun warmed the adder's brood. "Lie down, lie down," True Thomas said. "The God shall judge when all is done, "But I will bring you a better word "And lift the cloud that I laid on." True Thomas played upon his harp, That birled and brattled to his hand. And the next least word True Thomas made. It garred the King take horse and brand. "Oh, I hear the tread o' the fighting-men, " I see the sun on splent and spear. "I mark the arrow outen the fern "That flies so low and sings so clear! INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1385-1918 ' VIvancc mv n.indar.ls ro rimr war. Ana l>,a my ^,„,W k„i,,,, ,,j^.k ,,,,, ^j^l lli<.i;W,|,;ill«ar.liasli,r.> aHi-hr .As c IT was tdiiiihr ,,„ ,1,,. n„r/|,.r 43S tr side!" '''.,'■'■' '■'W'Jf lip the aann-l «./, .' I lie eyass slonpcd upon Ihe ■ III True Thomas sighed above ,„„ And turned the song on t;,f , And the last least word Tr„. I', muhjKi'.t JtniiL'; stwordTri,, The,., as made He harp.t his dead youth back to t!,, K,'. . Now I am prince, and I do well ..- '° ',°*'« ""y '''ve withouten fear: lo walk with man in fellowship And breathe my horse behind the deer. "My hounds they bay unto the death , The buck has couched beyond the burn. My love she waits at her window To wash my hands when I return. "For that I live am I content '•(Oh! I have seen my true love's eves) To stand wi Adam in Eden-glade, ' And run m the woods o' Paradise!" 'Tnias naked sky and nodding gra '^'' '^^:^^^^'' -' -'"^ ^'^y p'- -'i "■^ "th?n7the[r fir^'' '^'' """= ^''^^ ^^^ '>''" •'""^^^ ^"''' "rriblls'taT """ """ "'""* *'''^ """''''" '"'° *>'" To these from birth is Belief forbidden; from these till death Is Relief afar. They are concerned with matters hidden-under the earth- Ime their altars are: The secret fountains to follow up, waters withdrawn to restore to the mouth, And gather the floods as in a cup, and pour them aijain at a city 8 drouth. '^ They do not preach that their God will rouse then, a little before the nuts work loose. They do not teach that His Pity .illows thtm to leave their job when they dam-well choose. 438 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE As in the thronged and the lighted ways, so in the dark and the desert they stand, Wary and watchful all their days that their brethren's days may be long in the land. Raise ye the stone or cleave the wood to make a path more fair or flat; Lo, it is black already with blood some Son of Martha spilled for that! Not as a ladder from earth to Heaven, not as a witness to any creed. But simple service simply given to his own kind :n their com- mon need. \]i And the Sons of Mary smile and are blessid— they know th« angels are on their side. They know in them is the Grace confessed, and for them are the Mercies multiplied. They sit at the Feet— they hear the Word— they see how truly the Promise runs. They have cast their burden upon the Lord, and— the Li^d He lays it on Martha's Sons! THE PALACE 1902 ■^^HEN I was King and a Mason— a Master proven and skilled — I cleared me ground for ;. Palace such as a King should build. I decreed and dug down to my levels. Presently, under the silt, I came on the wreck of a Palace such as a King had built. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 439 There was no worth in the fashion— there was no wit in the plan — Hither and thither, aimless, the ruined footings ran — Masonry, brute, mishandled, but carven on every stone: "After me comelh a Builder. Tell him, I loo have known." Swift to my use in my trenches, where my well-planned ground-works grew, I tumbled his quoins and his ashlars, and cut and reset them anew. Lime I milled of his marbles; burned it, slacked it, and spread; Taking and leaving at pleasure the gifts of the humble dead. Yet I despised not nor gloried; yet, as wv wrenched them apart, I read in the razed foundations the heart of that builder's heart. A' he had rijen and pleaded, so did I understand The for.-n of the dream he had followed in the face of the thing he had planned. Wher I was a King and a MasDii— in the open noon of my pridr, They sent me a Word from the Darkness— They whispered and calltd me aside. They said— "The end is forbidden." Thev saia~"Thv use is fulfilled. "Thy Falacc shall stand as that other's — the spoil of a King who shall build." I called my men from my trenches, my quarries, my wharves, and my sheers. All I had wrought I abandontd to the ta.ch of the faithless years. Only I cut on the timber-only 1 i.irved on the stone; •'^/fer me comelh a Builder, fill him, I loo have known .'" 440 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE EPITAPHS OF THE WAR "Equality or Sacrifice " A. "I was a Have.'" B. "I was a "have-not." " (Together.) "What hast thou given which I gave not.'' A Servant We were together since the War began. He was my servant — and the better man. A So.v My son was killed while laughing at some jest. I would I knew What it W.-IS, and it might serve me in a time when jests are few. An Onlv Son I have slain nom except my Mother. She (Blessing her slayer) died of grief for me. Ex-Clerk Pity not! The Army gave Freedom to a timid slave: In which Freedom did he find Strength of body, will, and mind : By which strength he came to prove Mirth, Companionship, and Love: For which Love to Death he went: In which Death he lies content. The Wonder Body and Spirit I surrendered whole To harsh Instructors^and received a soul . . IS I 1 INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 441 If mortal man coul.'. change me through and through from all I was— what may The God not do? Hindu Sepov i.v France This man in his own country prayed we know not to what rowers. We pray Them to reward him for his bravery in ours. The Coward I could not look on Death, which being known. Men led me to him, blindfold and alone. Shock My name, my speech, mv self I had forgot My wife and children came— I knew them not I died. My Mother followed. At her call And on her bosom I remembered all. A Grave near Cairo Gods of the Nile, should this stout fellow here Get out— get out! He knows not shame nor fear. Pelicans in the Wilderness (A grave near halfa) The blown sand heaps on me, that none may learn Where I am laid for whom my children grieve U wings that beat at dawning, ye return ' ' Out of the desert to your young at eve! The K AVOUR Death favoured endure me from the first, well knowing I ing I could not To wait on him day by day. He quitted my be came y betters and } 442 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Whistling over the fields, and, when he had made all sure, "Thy line is at end," he said, " but at least I have saved its name." The Beginner On the first hour of my first day In the front trench I fell. (Children in boxes at a play Stand up to watch it well.) R. A. F. (Aged Eighteen) Laughing through clouds, his milk-teeth still unshed, Cities and men he smote from overhead. His deaths delivered, he returned to play Childlike, with childish things now put away. The Refined Man I was of delicate mind. I stepped aside for my needs. Disdaining the common office. I was seen from afar and killed. . . . How is this matter for mirth? Let each man be judged by his deeds. / hme paid my price to lioe with myself on the terms that I willed. Native Water-Carrier (M. E. F.) Prometheus brought down fire to men. This brought up water. The Gods are jealous — now, as then. Giving no quarter. Bombed in London On land and sea I strove with anxious care To escape conscription. It was in the air! 11! INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 The Si.eepv Sf.ntinf.i, 443 Faithless the watch that I kept: now I have none tn keen. I was slam because I slept: now I am slain I sleep. I.et no man reproach me again, whatever watch is unkept - I sleep because I am slain. They slew me because I slept. BArrERiEs OUT or .Ammlmtiox If any mourn us in the workshop, say We died because the shift kept holiday. CoMMo.v Form If any question why we died. Tell them, because our fathers lied. A Dead STATESMA^f I could not dig: I dared not rob: Therefore I lied to please the mob. Now all my lies are proved untrue And I must face the men I slew. What tale shall serve me here among Mine angry and defrauded young? The Rebel If I had clamoured at Thy Gate For gift of Life on Earth, And, thrusting through the souls that wait, Flung headlong into birth — Even then, even then, for gin and snare About my pathway spread. Lord, I had mocked Thy thoughtful care Before I joined the Dead ! But now? . . . I was beneath Thy Hand Ere yet the Planets came. ,1nd now— though Planets pass, I stand Trie witness to Thy shame. 444 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE The Obedient Daily, though no ears attended. Did my prayers arise. Daily, though no fire descended Di ' . sacrifice. Th lyh my daritness did not lift, Tliough I faced no lighter odds. Though the Gods bestowed no gift. None the less. None the less, I served the Gods! A Drifter off Tarentum He from the wind-bitten north with ship and companions descended. Searching for eggs of death spawned by invisible hulls. Many he found and drew forth. Of a sudden the fisherv ended In flame and a clamorous breath not new to the eve-peckine gulls. ' ^ * Destroyers iv Collision For Fog and Fate no charm is found To lighten or amend. I, hurrying to my bride, was drowned — Cut down by my best friend. Convoy Escort I was a shepherd to fools Causelessly bold or afraid. They would not abide by my rules. Yet they escaped. For I stayed. ^^^ ^" ■'■■ ^i..i\*A> INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885 1918 44S Unknown- Female Corpse Headless, lacking foot and hand. Horrible I come to land. I beseech all women's sons Know I was a mother once. Kaped and Revent.ed One used and butchered me: another spied Me broken— for which thing an hundred died. &) It was learned among the heathen hosts How much a freeborn woman's favour costs. Salonikan Grave I have watched a thousand days Push out and crawl into night Slowly as tortoises. Now I, too, follow these. It is fever, and not the fight — Time, not battle — that slays. The Bridegroom Call me not false, beloved, If, from thy scarce-known breast So little time removed. In other arms I rest. For this more ancient bride Whom coldly I embrace Was constant at my side Before 1 saw thy face. 446 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Our marriage, often set — By miracle delayed — At last is consummate, And cannot be unmade. Live, then, whom Life shall cure, Almost, of Memory, And leave us to endure Its immortality. V. A. D. (Mediterranean) Ah, would swift ships hail never l>ecn, for then we ne'er had found. These harsh Mgenn rocks between, this little virgin drowned, Whom neither spouse nor child shall mourn, but men she nursed through pain And — certain keels for whose return the heathen look in vain. JUSTICE y^CROSS a world where all men grieve And grieving strive the more. The great days range like tides and leave Our dead on every shore. heavy the load we undergo. And our own hands prepare. If we have parley with the Joe, The load our sons must bear. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 Before we loose the worj That bids new worlds to birth, ^eeds must we loosen first the sword Of Justice upon earth; Or else all else is vain Since life on earth began, And the spent world sinks back again Hopeless of God and Man. A People and their King Through ancient sin grown strong, Because they feared no reckoning Would set no bound to wrong; But now their hour is past, And we who bore it find Evil Incarnate held at last To answer to mankind. 447 For agony and spoil Of nations beat to dust, For poisoned air and tortured soil And cold, commanded lust. And every secret woe The shuddering waters saw — Willed and fulfilled by high and low- Let them relearn the Law. That when the dooms are read, Not high nor low shall say : — "My haughty or my humble head Has saved me in this day." That, till the end of time. Their remnant shall recall Their fathers' old, confederate crime Availed them not at all. MICBOCCWY IIESOIUTION TEST CHAUT lANSI ond ISO TEST CHART No 2| A -APPLIED IVHGE (716) £05f *82 Mu.n St. - 0300 - r' 1 4609 US4 ('■61 288 - 6989 - Fa. r it 448 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE That neither schools nor priests, Nor Kings may build again A people with the heart of beasts Made wise concerning men. Whereby our dead shall sleep In honour, unbetrayed, And we in faith and honour keep That peace for which they paid. SEVEN WATCHMEN I 9 I 8 gEVEN Watchmen sitting in a tower. Watching what had come upon mankind. Showed the Man the Glory and the Power, And bade him shape the Kingdom to his mind. "All things on Earth your will shall win you." ('Twas so their council ran) " But the Kingdom— the Kingdom is within you," Said the Man's own mind to the Man. For time — and some time — As it was in the bitter years before So It shall be in the over-sweetened hour — That a man's mind is wont to tell him more Than Seven Watchmen sitting in a tower. TO THOMAS .ATKINS (Prelude to Barrack Room Ballads) J HAVE made for you a song. And it may be right or wrong. But only you can tell me if it's true; I have tried for to explain Both your pleasure and your pain, A):d, Jhnmas, here's my best respects to you ! INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 0 there'll surely comf a day IVhen they'll give yu.i all your pay. And treat you as a Christian ought to do; So, until thai dry comes round, Heaven keep you safe and sound, And, Thomas, here's my best respects to you ! 449 BOBS (Field Marshal Lord Roberts of Kandahar) 'J'HERE'S a little red-faced man, Which is Bobs, Rides the tallest 'orse 'e can — Our Bobs. If it bucks or kicks or rears, 'E can sit for twenty years With a smile round both 'is ears — Can't yer, Bobs? Then 'ere's to Bobs Bahadur— little Bobs, Bobs, Bobs! 'E's our pukka Kandahader— Fightin' Bobs, Bobs, Bobs! 'E's the Dook of Aggy Chel'; 'E's the man that done us well, An' we'll follow 'im to 'ell— Won't we, Bobs? If a limber's slipped a trace, 'Ook on Bobs. If a marker's lost 'is place. Dress by Bobs. 'Get ahead. 4SO RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE I'or 'c's eyes all up 'is coat, An' a bugle in 'is throat, An' you will not play the goat Under Bobs. lywi 'E's a little down on drink Chaplain Bobs; But it keeps us outer Clink — Don't it, Bobs? So we will not complain Tho' 'e's water on the brain. If 'e leads us straight again — Blue-light Bobs. If you stood 'im on 'is head, Father Bobs, You could spill a quart of lead Outer Bobs. 'E's been at it thirty years, An-amassin' souveneers In the way o' slugs an' spears — Ain't yer Bobs? What 'e does not know o' war, Gen'ral Bobs, You can arst the shop next door — Can't they, Bobs? Oh, 'e's little but he's wise; 'E's terror for 'is size. An' — 'e — doe3 — not — advertize — Do yer, Bobs? Now they've made a bloomin' Lord Outer Bobs, Which was but 'is fair reward-- Weren't it, Bobs? INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 45> ao e II wear a coronet Where 'is 'elmet used to set; But we know you won't forget- Will yer, Bobs? Then 'ere's to Bobs Bahadur— little Bobs, Bobs, Bobs, Pocket-Wellin'toii 'an order' — Fightin' Bobs, Bobs, Bobs! This ain't no bloomin' ode, But you've 'elped the soldier's load. An' for benefits bestowed. Bless yer, Bobs! DANNY DEEVER V^J?'*''" "^ '''^ bugles bio in' for?" said Files-on-Parade. "To turn you out, to turn you out," the Colour-Sergeant said. "What makes you look so white, so white?" said Files-on- Parade. "I'm dreadin' what I've got to watch," the Colour-Sergeant said. For they're hangin' Danny Deever, you can hear the Dead March play. The regiment's in 'ollow square— they're hangin' him to-day; They've taken of his buttons off an' cut his stripes away. An' they're hangin' Danny Deever in the mornin'. 'And a half. r m 452 RUDYARD KIPLING S VERSE "What makes the rear-rank breathe so 'ard?" said Files-on- Parade. "It's bitter cold, it's bitter cold," the Colour-Sergeant said. "What makes that front-rank man fall down?" said Files-on- Parade. "A touch o' sun, a touch o' sun," the Colour-Sergeant said. They are hangin' Danny Deever, they are marchin' of 'im round, They 'ave 'alted Danny Deever by 'is coffin on the ground; An' 'e'll swing in 'arf a minute for a sneakin' shootin' hound — O they're hangin' Danny Deever in the mornin'! "|Is cot was right-'and cot to mine," said Files-on-Parade. "'E's sleepin' out an' far to-night," the Colour-Sergeant said. "I've drunk "is beer a score o' times," said Files-on-Paradc. " 'E's drinkin' bitter beer alone," the Colour-Sergeant said. They are hangin' D mny Deever, you must mark 'im to is place, For 'e shot a comrade sleepi.i' — you must look 'im in the face; Nine 'undred of 'is county an' the Regiment's disgrace, While they're hangin' Danny Deever in the mornin'. "What's that so black agin the sun ? " said Files-on-Parade. ''^ It's Danny fightin' 'ard for life," the Colour-Sergean; said. " What's that that whimpers over'ead ? " said Files-on-Parade. "It's Danny's soul that's passin' now," the Colour-Sergeant said. For they're done with Danny Deever, you can 'ear the quickstep play, The regiment's in column, an' they're marchin' us away; Ho! the young recruits are shakin', an' they'll want their beer to-day, .After hangin' Danny Deever in the mornin'! :h,j INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 453 TOMMY J WENT Into a publit-'ousc to get a pint o' beer, The public^... 'e up an' sez, "We serve no red-cats her.." The girls be ind the bar they laughed an' giggled fit tc die, I outs into the street again an' to myself sez I: O it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, go away"; But it's "Thank you. Mister Atkins," when the band begins to play — The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to O It s "Thank you, Mister Atkins," when the band begins to play. I went into a theatre as sober as could be, They gave a drunk civilian room, but 'adn't none for me; They sent me to the gallery or round the music-'alls. But when it comes to fightin'. Lord! they'll shove me in the stalls! For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, wait outside"; But It's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide — The troopship's on the tide, my boys, the troopship's on the tide, O it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on ihe tide. Yes, makm mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap; An' hustlin' drunken soldiers when they're goin' large a bit Is five times better business than paradin' in full kit. ( 454 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommv that, an' "Tommv ow's yer soui?" But it's "Thin red line of 'erocs" when the drums begin to roll — rum; "Th roll J'^^^'^T"''^'",'" ■■""' ">>' ''«ys. the drums begin to roll 'J It s I hm red Ime of "eroes" when the drums beein tr We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too, " But single men in barricks, most remarkable like vou- An if sometimes our conduck isn't all vour fancv paints ^\'l"F • '"^" '" ^"""'"^^^ 'lon't grow into plaster saints- While It s Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommv fall be'ind," But it's "Please to walk in front, lir," when there's trouble in the wind^ There's trouble in the w'.nd, my boys, there's trouble in the wind, O it's "Please to walk in front, sir," when there's trouble in the wind. w?M,""'.°' ^^"'"' f"' '' f""" "«' an' schools, an' fires, an' all- We 11 wait for extry rations if you treat us rational T?u " «J?'f' ' f''?^'. 9"^ ™ok-room slops, but prove it to our face I he Widow s Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace For It's Tommy this, an' Tommv that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute!" But it's "Saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot; An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommv hat, an' anything you please; An' Tommy ain't a bloomin" fool— you bet that Tommy sees ! INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 455 " FUZZY- WUZZY" {Soudan Expeditionary Force) W/^E'VE fought with manv men acrost the seas An s„mc of 'cm was brave an' some was not: I he Faythan an the Zulu an' Burmese; But the Kuzzy was the finest o' the l.'it We never got a ha'porth's change of 'im: E squatte.l in the scrub an' 'ockeil our 'orscs t cut our sentries up at Sua/t;w, An' 'e played the cat an' banio with our forces So eres ,o y„u, Euzzy-Wuzzy, at vour 'ome in the Soudan; You're a pore benighted 'eathen but a first-class fightin' man; ^ We gives you your certificate, an' if vow want it signed V\e 11 come an ave a romp with you whenever vou're mclmed. %}°°t """^ '^''*"" '""°"g tl"^ Kyber 'ills, The Boers knocked us sillv at a mile, The Burman give us Irriwaddy chills. An' a Zulu impi dished us up in style: But all we ever got from such as they VVas pop to what the Fuzzy made us swaller; Ue eld our bloomin' own, the papers say But man for man the Fuzzy knocked us 'oiler. Then eres/» you, Fuzzy-Wuzzy, an' the missis and the kid; Our orders was to break you, an' of course we went an' aid. il 456 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE We sloshed you with Martinis, an' it wasn't 'anlly fair; But »or all the odds agin' you, Kuzzy-Wuz, you broke the square. 'E 'asn't got no papers of 'is own, 'E 'asn't got no medals nor rewards. So we must certify the skill 'e's shown, In usin' of 'is long two-'anded swords: When 'e's 'oppin' in an' out among the bush VVith 'is coffin-'eadcl shield an' shovel-spear, An 'appy day with Fuzzy on the rush Will last an 'ealthy Tommy for a year. So 'ere's to you. Fuzzy- Wuzzy, an' your friends which are no more. If we 'adn't lost some messmates we would 'elp you to deplore. But give an' take's the gospel, an we'll call the bareain fair, ' For if you 'ave lost more than us, you crumpled up the square! 'E rushes at the smoke when we let drive, ^ An', before we know, 'e's 'ackin' at our 'ead; E's all 'ot sand an' ginger when alive, An' 'e's generally shammin' when 'e's dead. 'E's a daisy, 'e's a ducky, 'e's a lamb! 'E's a injia-rubber idiot on the spree, 'E's the on'y thing that doesn't give a damn For a Regiment o' British Infantree! So 'ere's to you, Fuzzy-Wuzzy, at your 'ome in the Soudan; You're a pore benighted 'eathen but a first-class fightin' man; An' 'ere's /o you, Fuzzy-Wuzzy, with your 'ayrick 'ead of air — Vou big black boundin' beggar— for you broke a British square! INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 457 SOLDIER, SOLDIER SP^'^'ER, soldier come from the wars, "Why don't you march with mv truf love?" "We're fresh from off the shi(i an' 'e's, maybe, give the slip, An you d best go look for a new love." New love! True love! Best go look for a new love. The dead they cannot rise, an' you'd better drv your eyes, ■ ' An' you'd best go look for a new love. " Soldier, soldier come from the wars, "What did you see o' my true love?" " 1 seen 'im serve the Queen in a suit o' rifle-green, "An' you'd best go look for a new love." "Soldier, soldier come from the wars, " Did ye see no more o' my true love?" " I seen 'im runnin' by when the shots begun to fly— "But you'd best go look for a new love." "Soldier, soldier come from the wars, '' Did aught take 'arm to my true love ? " "I couldn't see the fight, for the smoke it lay so white— And you'd best go look for a new love." "Soldier, soldier come from the wars, "I'll up an' t: ;d to my true love!" "'E's lying on the dead with a bullet through 'is 'ead. An you'd best go look for a new love." " Soldier, soldier come from the wars, "I'll down an' die with my true love!" "'The pit we dug'll 'ide 'im an' the twenty more beside 'im— An you d best go look for a new love." 45H RUDYARD KIPLINCJS VERSE "SohlitT, siilirr come from rhc wars, "l)n you liiinu' no sipii t'roiii my trut love?" I' I l.ring a lo>k of 'air fliat V alius usol to vvxar, "Am' youM I). St go look tor a rn.w love." 'Sohlicr, soldier come from the wars, 'D then I know it's true I've lost my true love!" ':\n' I tell you truth aiiain -when y.iu've lost the feel o' pain '\ou il best take me tor your new love." True love! New love! Best take 'im for a new love, The dead they cannot rise, an' you'd better dry your eyes An' you'd best take 'im for your new love. SCREW-GUNS gMOKIN' my pipe on the mountings, sniffin' the mornin' cool, I walks in my old brown gaiters along o' my old brown mule, With seventy gunners be'ind me, an' never a beggar forgets It s only the pick of the Army that handles the dear little pets — "I'ss! 'Tss! ' For you all love the screw-guns— the screw-Kuns they all love you ! So when we call round with a few guns, o' course you will know what to do — hool hoo! Jest send in yiiir Chief an' sui render — it's worse if you fights or you runs: You can go where you please, you can skid up the trees, but you don't get away from the guns! INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885 1918 45,, They sends us al-.ny where the ru. s are, l.ut m.,stlv wc L-r,, s where they ain't. * We'd chmb up the side of a sign-lxjard an' trust t,. the stick o the paint: We've chivied the Naga an' ,„shai, we've give the Afreedee- man nts. For we fancies ourselves at two thousand, we guns that are built m two bits -'Tss! 'Tss! For yo' ill love the screw-Buns . . . If u man doesn't wont, why, we drills 'im an teaches 'im 'ow to behave; If a beggar can't march, why, e kills 'im an' rattles 'im into IS grave. You've got to stand up to o„r business an' spring without snatchm or fuss. D' you say that you sweat with the field-guns' By God. vou must lather with us— 'Tss! 'Tss! For you all love the screw-guns . The eagles is screamin' around us, the river's a-moanin' be- low, We're clear o' the pine an' the oak-scrub, we're out on the rocks an' the snow. An' the wind is as thin as a whip-lash what carries away to the plains The rattle an' stamp o' the lead-mules-the jinglety-jink o' the chains— 'Tss! 'Tss! For you all love the screw-guns . . There's a wheel on the Horns o' the Mornin', an' a wheel on the edge o' the Pit, An' a drop into nothin' beneath you as straight as a beesar can spit: *^ 460 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE With the sweat runnin' out o' your shirt-sleeves, an' the sun off the snow in your face, An' 'arf o' the men on the drag-ropes to hold the old gun in 'er place — 'Tss! 'Tss! For you all love the screw-guns . . Smokin' my pipe on the mountings, sniffin' the momin'-cool, I cl'Tibs m my old brown gaiters along o' my old brown mule- The monkey can say what our road was— the wild-goat 'e knows where we passed. Stand easy, you long-eared old darlin's! Out drag-ropes' Withsh.apnel! Hold fast— 'Tss! 'Tss! For you all love the screw-guns— the screw-guns they all love you! So when we take tea with a few guns, o' course you will know what to do — hoo! hoo! Je.'t send in your Chief an' surrender— it's worse if you fights or you runs: You may hide in the caves, they'll be only your graves, but you can't get away from the guns! CELLS J'VE a head like a concertina, I've a tongue like a button- stick, I've a mouth like an old potato, and I'm more than a little sick. But I've had my fun o' the Corp'ral's Guard; I've made the cinders fly. And I'm here in the Clink for a thundering drink and blacking the Corporal's eye. With a second-hand overcoat under my head, .And a beautiful view of the yard, O it's pack-drill for me and a fortnight's C. B. For "drunk and resisting the Guard!" INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 461 Mad drunk and resisting the Guard— [Strewth, but I socked it them hard! So It s pack-drill for me and a fortnight's C. B. For "drunk and resisting the Guard." I started o' canteen porter, I finished o' canteen beer But a dose o gm that a mate slipped in, it was that that brought me here. •Twas that and an extry double Guard that rubbed my nose m the dirt — ' But I fell away with the Corp'ral's stock and the best of the Corp ral s shirt. i'!['r'"^/fP ■" ^ P"''''=-'«'"se, my boots in the public road, And Lord knows where— and I don't care-my belt and mv tunic goed. ' They'll stop my pay, they'll cut away the stripes I used to wear, '^ But I left my mark on the Corp'ral's face, and I think he'll keep It there! My wife she cries on the barrack-gate, my kid in the barrack- yard, '' ^'"'hlrd' ' "'"'* ^^^ ^'^^^ room-it's thai that cuts so I'll take my oath before them both that I will sure abstain But as soon as I m in with a mate and gin, I know I'll do it again! With a second-hand overcoat under my head, And a beautiful view of the yard. Yes, it's pack-drill for me and a fortnight's C. B. For "drunk and resisting the Guard!" Mad drunk and resisting the Guard— _'Strewth, but I socked it them hard! So It's pack-drill for me and a fortnight's C. B. For "drunk and resisting the Guard." 46i RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE GUNGA DIN YOU may talk o' gin and beer When you're quartered safe out 'ere, An' you're sent to penny-fights an' Aldershot it; But when it comes to slaughter You will do your work on water, An' you'll lick the bloomin' boots of 'im that's got it. Now in Injia's sunny clime. Where I used to spend my time A-servin' of 'Er Majesty the Queen, Of all them blackfaced crew The finest man I knew Was our regimental bhisti, Gunga Din. He was "Din! Din! Din! "You Hmpin' lump o' brick-dust, Gunga Din! "Hi! Slippy hitherao ! "Water, get it! Panee lao^ "You squidgy-nosed old idol, Gunga Din." The uniform 'e wore Was nothin' much before, An' rather less than 'arf o' that be'ind. For a piece o' twisty rag An' a goatskin water-bag Was all the field-equipment 'e could find. When the sweatin' troop-train lay In a sidin' through the day. Where the 'eat would make your bloomin' eyebrows crawl We shouted "Harry By! "2 Till our throats were bricky-dry. Then we wopped "im 'cause 'e couldn't serve us all. 'Bring water swiftly. 'O brother. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 463 It was "Din! Din! Din! "You 'eathen, where the mischief 'ave vou been? "You put some juldee' in it "Or I'll marrow' you this minute "If you don't fill up my helmet, Gunga Din!" 'E would dot an' carry one Till the longest day was done; An' 'e didn't seem to know the use o' fear. If we charged or broke or cut, You could bet your bloomin' nut, 'E'd be waitin' fifty paces right flank rear. With 'is mussick' on 'is back, 'E would skip with our attack, An' watch us till the bugles made "Retire" An' for all 'is dirty 'ide 'E was white, clear white, inside When 'e went to tend the wounded under fire! It was "Din! Din! Din!" With the bullets kickin' dust-spots on the green When the cartridges ran out, You could hear the front-ranks shout, "Hi! ammunition-mules an' Gunga Din!" I sha'n't forgit the night When I dropped be'ind the fight With a bullet where my belt-plate should 'a' been. I was chokin' mad with thirst. An' the man that spied me first Was our good old grinnin', gruntin' Gunga Din. 'E lifted up my 'ead, An' he plugged me where I bled, 'Be quick. tilt you. 'Water-skin. 464 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE An' 'e guv me 'arf-a-pint o' water green. It was crawlin' and it stunk, But of all the drinks I've drunk, I'm gratefullest to one from Gunga Din. It was "Din! Din! Din! '"Ere's a beggar with a bullet through 'is spleen; " 'E's chawin' up the ground, "An' 'e's kickin' all around: "For Gawd's sake git the water, Gunga Din!" 'E carried me away To where a dooli lay. An' a bullet come an' drilled the beggar clean. "E put me safe inside, An' just before 'e died, "I 'ope you liked your drink," sez Gunga Din. So I'll meet 'im later on At the place where 'e is gone — Where it's always double drill and no canteen. 'E'll be squattin' on the coals Givin' drink to poor damned souls. An' I'll get a swig in hell from Gunga Din I Yes, Din! Din! Din! You Lazarushian-leather Gunga Din! Though I've belted you and flayed you. By the livin' Gawd that made you, You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din! OONTS (Northern India Transport Train) \^0T makes the soldier's 'eart to penk, wot makes 'im to perspire? It isn't standin' up to charge nor lyin' down to fire; But it's everlastin' waitin' on a everlastin' road For the commissariat camel an' 'is commissariat load. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 465 ° ^t■ ^"''' V^^ °°"*' O '•''= commissariat oont! With IS silly neck a-bobbin' like a basket full o' snakes; We packs -im like an idol, an' you ought to 'ear 'im grunt An when we get im loaded up 'is blessed girth-r<,pc breaks. ° ' Wot makes the rear-guard swear so 'ard when night is drorin' in, An' every native follower is shiverin' for 'is skin' 1 1 am't the chanst o' being rushed by Paythans from the 'ills It s the commissariat camel puttin' on 'is bloomin' frills' O the oont, O the oont, O the hairy scary oont! A-trippm' over tent-ropes when we've got the night alarm! ° We soc'-s 'im with a stretcher-pole an' 'eads 'im off in front. An' when we've saved 'is bloomin' lifo 'e chaws our bloomin arm. The 'orse 'e knows above a bit, the bullock's but a fool Ihe elephant's a gentleman, the battery. mule's a mule- But the commissariat cam-u-el, when all is said an' done t s a devil an' a ostrich an' a orphan-child in one. O the oont, O the oont, O the Gawd-forsaken oont! The lumpy-'umpy 'ummin'-bird a-singin' where 'e lies E s blocked the whole division from the rear-guard to the front, An' when we get him up again— the beggar goes an' dies! -c'l! ?*" ^"'^^f^ an'lame an'fight— 'e smells most awful vile. hll lose isself for ever if you let '^m stray a mile. E s game to graze the 'ole day long an' 'owl the 'ole night through. ° An' when 'e comes to greasy ground 'e splits 'isself in two. 'Camd:-oo is pronounced like u in "bull," but by Mr. Atkins to rhyme with "front." 466 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE O the oont, O the oonf, O the floppin', liroppin' oont! When 'is long legs give from under an' 'is meltin' eve 15 dim, The trihes is up he'ind us, and the tribes is out in front^ It am't no jam for Tommy, hut it's kites an' crows tor 'im. So when the cruel march is done, an' when the roads is blind. An' when we sees the camp in front an' 'ears the shots be'ind,' Ho! then we strips 'is saddle off, and all 'is woes is past: 'E thinks on us that used 'im so, and gets revenge at last. O the oont, O the oont, O the floatin', bloatin' oont! The late lamented camel in the water-cut 'e lies; We keeps a mile be'ind 'im an' we keeps a mile in front. But 'e gets into the drinkin'-casks, and then o' course we dies. LOOT JF YOU'VE ever stole a pheasant-egg be'ind the keeper's back. If you've ever snigged the washin' from the line, If you've ever crammed a gander in your bloomin' 'aversack. You »•;■.! understand this little song o' mine. But the service rules are 'ard, an' from such we are debarred. For the same with English morals does not suit. (Cornet: Toot! toot!) Why, they call a man a robber if 'e stuffs 'is marchin' clobber' With the — lulu! Loo! loo! Lulu! Loot! Lulu! {Chorus) Loo! loo! loot! loot! Ow the loot! Bloomin' loot! 'Clothes. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 Thatsthe thing to make the boys git up an It's the same with dogs an' men, If you'd make 'em come again , /r^ «i*P *"" ^°'^"^ with a Loo! loo! Lulu! {#) Whoopee! Tear 'im, puppy! Loo! loo! Loot! loot! loot! 467 shoot! Loot! Lulu! U you've knocked a nigger edgeways when 'e 's thrustin' for your life, You must leave 'im very careful where 'e fell- An may thank your stars an' gaiters if you didn't feel 'is knife That you ain't told oflF to bury "im as well. Then the sweiitin' Tommies wonder as they spade the beeears under *= W!iy lootin' should be entered as a crime So, u my song you'll 'ear, I will learn you plain an clear Ow to pay yourself for fightin' overtime. (Chorus) With the loot, . . . Now remember when you're 'acking round a gilded Burma god "That 'is eyes is very often precious stones; An if you treat a nigger to a dose o' cleanin'-rod E's like to show you everything 'e owns. When 'e won't prodooci; no more, pour some water on the floor Where you 'ear it answer 'ollow to the boot (.Cornel; Toot! toot!)— When the ground begins to sink, shove your baynick down the chink, An' you're sure to touch the — (Chorus) Loo ! loo ! Lulu ! Loot ! loot ! loot ! Ow the loot! ... 468 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE When from 'ouse to 'ouse you're 'unting, you must always work in pairs — It 'alvts the gain, but safer you will find— For a single man gets bottled on them twisty-wisty stairs, An' a woman comes and clobs 'im from be'ind. When you've turned 'em inside out, an' it seems beyond a doubt As if there weren't enough to dust a flute (Cornet: Toot! toot!) — Before you sling your 'ook, at the 'ousetops take a look, For It's underneath the tiles they 'ide the loot. (Chorus) Ow the loot! . . . You can mostly square a Sergiiu an' a Quartermaster too, If you only take the proper way to go. / could never keep my pickin's, but I've learned you all I knew — But don't you never say I told you so. An' now I'll bid good-bye, for I'm gettin' rather dry. An' I see another tunin' up to toot (Cornel: Toot! toot) — So "ere's good-luck to those that wears the Widow's clo'es. An' the Devil send 'em all they want o' loot! (Chorus) Yes, the loot, Bloomin' loot! In the tunic an' the mess-tin an' the boot! It's the same with dogs an' men. If you'd make 'em come again. Uff) VVhoop 'em forward with a Loo! loo! Lulu! Loot! loot! loot! Heeya! Sick 'im, puppy! Loo! loo! Lulu! Loot! loot! loot! INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 469 "SNARLEYOW" T"I,^>PP«"«'l '" » ''a«'e to a battVy of the corps An whatthe b oomin battle was I don't remember now. But Two s off-lead' e answered to the name o' Snar/cyow. Uown m the Infantry, nobody cares; Down in the Cavalry, Colonel 'e swears- But down in the lead with the wheel at the flog Turns the bold Bombardier to a little whipped dog! They was movin' into action, they was needed very sore, lo learn a little schoolm' to a native army-corps. They ad nipped against an uphill, they was tuckin' down the brow, When a tricky trundlin' roundshot give the knock to Snar/e. yow. They cut im loose an' left 'im-'e was almost tore in two- But he triedto follow after as a well-trained 'orse should do- fc. went an fouled the limber, an' the Driver's Brother squeals: "Pull up, pull up for Snarhyow~'h head's between 'is 'eels!" The Driver 'umped 'is shoulder, for the wheels was eoin' round. An' there ain't no "Stop, conductor!" when a batt'rv's cnangm ground; Sez 'e: "I broke the beggar in, an' very sad I feels, Hut I could nt pull up, not for^o«-your 'ead between your eels! 'The leading right-hand horse of No. 2 gun. 470 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE "E "ad n't 'arcily spoke the word, before a dronpin' shell A little right the batt'ry an' between the sections fell; An' when the smoke 'ad cleared away, before the limber- wheels, There lay the Driver's Brother with 'is 'ead between 'is 'eels. Then sez the Driver's Brother, an" 'is words was very plain, "For Gawd's own sake get over me, an' put me out o' pain." They saw 'is wounds was mortial, an' they judged that it was best, So they took an' drove the limber straight across 'is back an' chest. The Driver 'e give nothin' 'cept a little coughin' grunt. But 'e swung 'is 'orses 'andsome when it came to "Action Front!" An' if one wheel was juicy, you may lay your Monday head 'T was juicier for the niggers when the case begun to spread. The moril of this story, it i.sc. T,ll half ..them was L.ffcy mud an' half was tatthcrcd cl.,V-, I-or It was;— "Belts, &,c." There was a row in Silver Street-it might ha' raged till now 'T wTAo^ ''rvr'^'"-""" ^■'^•"' ""■ ""'-'V knew h.;:; \. T ""'' *'" P°'"' "" dropped; wc saw the red blood run; An' so we all was murderers that started out in fun. While It was: "Belts, &c." ^^"' sTtne" "* '" ^'^^" Street-but that put down the Wid each man whisperin' to his next;-'"T was never work o mine! We went^vay like beaten dogs, an' down the street we bore The Po^J-^dumb corpse t'.at couldr'r tell .he bhoys were sorry When it was;— "Belts, &c." There was a row m Silver Street-it isn't over yet, K.r hulf of us are under guard wid punishments to get- 1 IS all a mernclc to me as in the Clink Hie- There was a row in Silver Street-begod, 1 wonder why' But ,t was;-" Belts, belts, belts, an' that's one for you! An' it was "Belts, belts, belts, an' that's done for you! O buckle an' tongue Was the song that we sung From Harrison's down to the Park! 474 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE THE YOUXG BRITISH SOLDIER 'Y^HF.N the 'arf-made recruity goes oui to the East 'E acts hke a babe an' 'e drinks like a beast. An' 'e wonders because 'e is frequent deceased Ere 'e 's fit for to serve as a soldier. Serve, serve, serve as a soldier, Serve, serve, serve as a soldier, Serve, serve, serve as a soldier, So-oldier of the Queen ! Now all you recruities what's drafted to-day. You shut up your rag-box an' 'ark to my lay, An' I'll sing you a soldier as far as I may: A soldier what's fit for a soldier. Fit, fit, fit for a soldier . . . First mind you steer clear o' the grog-sellers' huts. For they sell you Fixed Bay'nets that rots out your guts- Ay, drink that 'ud eat the live steel from your butts — An' it's bad for the young British soldier. Bad, bad, bad for the soldier . . . When the cholera comes — as it will past a doubt — Keep out of the wet and don't go on the shout. For the sickness gets in as the liquor dies out, An' it crumples the young British soldier. Crum-, crum-, crumples the soldier . . But the worst o' your foes is the sun over'ead: You must wear your 'elmet for all that is said: If 'e finds you uncovered 'e'll knock you down dead, An' you'll die like a fool of a soldier. Fool, fool, fool of a soldier . . . INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 If you're cast for fatigue by a sergeant unkind, Don t grouse l,ke a woman nor crack on nor bl nd- Be handy and cvl, and then you will find Ihat ic s beer for the young British soldier Beer, beer, beer for the soldier Now, if you must marry, take care she is old- A troop-sergeant s widow's the nicest, I'm told For beauty won't help if your rations is cold, ' ISor love am t enough for a soldier. 'Nough, 'nough, "nough for a soldier If the wife should go wrong with a comrade, be loth To shoot when you catch 'em-you'll swing on my oath'- Make ™ take 'er and keep 'er; that's Helffor th^rboth, An you re shut o' the curse of a soldier. Curse, curse, curse of a soldier When first under fire an' you're wishful to duck Don t look nor take 'eed at the man that is struck. Be thankful you re livin', and trust to your luck And march to your front like a soldier, i-ront, front, front like a soldier When 'arf of your bullets fly wide in the ditch Don t call your Martini a cross-eyed old bitch- She s human as you are-you treat her as sich An she 11 fight for the young British soldier, l-ight, fight, fight for the soldier When shakin' their bustl, s like Indies so fine Ihegunso the enemv wheel into line Shoot low at the limbers an' don't mind the shine l-or noise never startles the soldier. ' Start-, start-, startles the soldier 47S i 476 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE If your officer's dead and the sergeants look white, Remember it's ruin to run from a fight: So take open order, lie duwn, and sit tight, And wait for supports like a soldier. Wait, wait, wait like a soldier . . . When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains, And the women come out to cut up what remains. Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains An' go to your Gawd like a soldier. ^°> go> ?P like a soldier, Goi go, go like a soldier, ^' S°> go "ke a soldier, So-oldier 0/ the Queen! MANDALAY gY THE old Moulmein Pagoda, lookin' eastward to the sea. There's a Burma girl a-settin', and I know she thinks o me; For the wind is in the palm-trees, and the temple-bells they say: "Come you back, you British soldier; come you back to Mandalay!" Come you back to Mandalay, Where the old Flotilla lay: Can't you 'ear their paddles chunkin" from Rangoon to Mandalay? On the road to Mandalay, Where the flyin'-fishes play, An' the dawn comes up like thunder outer China 'crost the Bay! 'Er petticoat was yaller an' 'er little cap was green. An' 'er name was Supi-yaw-lat— jes' the same as Theebaw's Queen, INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 477 An- I seed her first a-smokin' of, whackin' white cheroot An a-wastm- Chnst.an kisses on an "eathen idol's foo * Bloomm idol made o" mud- Wot they called the Great Gawd Budd- she stud ! '"''' ''°'' '''°'' **"" ' ^'"'^'^ '^^ '^''^■•^ On the road to Mandalay When the mist was on the rice-fields an' the sun was droppin' She'd git -e; little banjo an' she'd sing " KulU-lo-lo >" With er arm upon my shoulder an' 'er cheek agin mv cheek We useter watch the steamers an' the /.aMs pSf^^ t"aV Elephmts a-pilm' teak J" 'he sludgy, squdgy creek, to speakl"" '""^ """ '""^^ 5'°" *"' arf afraid On the road to IVIandalay But that's all shove be'ind me-long ago an' fur away ''dalay" "° ''""" """■"■ '°- ■- Banrto Man- An' I'm learn'in' 'ere in London what the ten-year soldier tells- If you ve card the East a-callin', you won't neVer 'eed naught else." "'' No! vou won't 'eed nothin' else Bu ,em spicy garlic smells, """' temrbtilsr"' ''^ ''^'^^^^^^^ On the road to Mandalay I am sick o' wastin' leather on these gritty pavin'-stones An the blasted Henglish drizzle wakes' the'fe^ver in my bo^es- St^nd' ^ °"^emaids outer Chelsea^o the' An' they talks a lot o' lovin'. but wot do they understand? 478 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Beefy face an' grubby 'and — Law! wot do they understand? I've a neater, sweeter maiden in a cleaner, greener land! On the road to Mandalay . . . Ship me somewheres cast of Suez, where the best is like the worst, Where there are n't no Ten Commandments an' a man can raise a thirst; For the temple-bells are callin'.an' it's there that I would be- By the old Moulmein Pagoda, looking lazy at the sea; On the road to Mandalay, \Vhere the old Flotilla lay. With our sick beneath the awnings when we went to Mandalay! O the road to Mandalay, Where the flyin'-fishes play. An' the dawn comes up like thunder outer China 'crost the Bay! TROOPIN' {Old English Army in the East) 'P'ROOPIN', troopin', troopin' to the sea: 'Ere's September come again— the six-year men are free. O leave the dead be'ind us, for they cannot come away To where the ship's a-coalin' up that takes us 'ome to-day. We're goin' 'ome, we're goin' 'ome. Our ship is at the shore. An' you must pack your 'aversack. For we won't come back no more. Ho, don't you grieve for me. My lovely Mary-Ann, For I'll marry you yit on a fourp'ny bit As a time-expir' ! man. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 479 The Malabar's in 'arbour with the Jumner at 'cr tail An the time-expired 's waitin' of 'is orders for to sail.' Ho! the weary waitin' when on Khyber 'ills we lav Uut the time-expired's waitin' of 'is orders 'ome to-day. They'll turn us out at Portsmouth wharf in cold an' wet an' rain, Tk "'.'if,'",,'"J''] "'"°" '''^' ''"' *« wi" "ot complain. 1 hey 11 kill us of pneumonia-for that's thdr little way- But darv-n the chills and fever, men, we're goin' 'ome to-day! Troopin', troopin', winter's round again! See the new draf's pourin' in for the old campaign: Ho you poor recruities, but you've got to earn your pay- What s the last from Lunnon, lads.' We're goin' there to-day. Troopin', troopin', give another cheer— Ere's^to English women an' a quart of English beer. 1 he .^olonel an the Regiment an' all who 've got to stay Gawd s Mercy strike 'em gentle- Whoop! we're goin' 'ome We're goin' 'ome, we're goin' 'ome. Our ship is at the shore, An' you must pack your 'aversack. For we won't come back no more. Ho, don't you grieve for me. My lovely Mary-Ann, For I'll marry you yit on a fourp'ny bit As a time-expired man. THE WIDOW'S PARTY ' W^HERE have you been this while away, Johnnie, Johnnie:'" Out with the rest on a picnic lay. Johnnie, my Johnnie, aha! M'\ i ♦80 RUDYARjj KIPLING'S VERSE They called us out of the barrack-yard To Gawd knows where from Gosport Hard, And you can't refuse when you get the card, And the Widow gives the party. {Bugle: Ta — rara — ra-ra-rara!) "What did you get to eat and drink Johnnie, Johnnie?" Standing water as thick as ink, Johnnie, my Johnnie, aha! A bit o' beef that were three year stored, A bit o' mutton as tough as a board, And a fowl we killed with a sergeant's sword, When the Widow give the party. "What did you do for knives and forks, Johnnie, Johnnie?" We carries 'em with us wherever we walks, Johnnie, my Johnnie, aha! And some was sliced and some was halved. And some was crimped and some was carved. And some was gutted and some was starved. When the Widow give the party. "What ha' you done with half your mess, Johnnie, Johnnie ? " They could n't do more and they would n't do less, Johnnie, my Johnnie, aha! They ate their whack and they drank their fill, And I think the rations has made them ill. For half my comp'ny's lying still Where the Widow give the party. "How did you get away— away, Johnnie, Johnnie?" On the broad o' my back at the end o' the day, Johnnie, my Johnnie, aha! ■Tin, INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 481 I corned away like a bleedin' toff, For I got four niggers to carry me off As I lay in the hijht of a canvas trough, \\hen the Widow give the party. "What was the end of all the show, , , Johnnie, Johnnie?" Ask my Colonel, for I don't know, UT u I „. J°hnnie, my Johnnie, aha! VVe broke a Kmg and we built a road— A court-house stands where the reg'ment goed. And the rivers dean where the raw blood flowed When the Widow give the party. {Bugle: Ta— rata— ra-ra-rara !) FORD O' KABUL RIVLU J^ABUL town's by Kabul river— Blo« the bugle, draw the sword— 1 here I lef my mate for ever, Wet an' drippin' by the ford. Ford, ford, ford o' Kabul river. Ford o' Kabul river in the dark' There's the river up and brimmin', an' there's 'arf a squadron swimmin' 'Cross the ford o' Kabul river in the dark. Kabul town's a blasted place— Blow the bugle, draw the sword— Strewth I sha'n't forget 'is face Wet an' drippin' by the ford! Ford, ford, ford o' Kabul river. Ford o' Kabul river in the dark' Keep the crossing-stakes beside you, an' they will surely guide you ' 'Cross the ford o' Kabul river in the dark. 4^- RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Kahul \i:\vn is sun and dust — Ulcnv the bugle, draw the sword — I'd ha' sooner drownded fust 'Stead of 'im beside the ford. Ford, ford, ford o' Kalnil river, Ford o' Kabul river in the dark! You can 'ear the 'orses threshin', you can 'ear the men a-splashin', 'Cross the ford o' Kabul river in the dark. Kabul town was ours to take — Blow the bugle, draw the sword — I'd ha' left it for 'is sake — 'Im that left me by the ford. Ford, ford, ford o' Kabul river. Ford o' Kabul river in the dark! It's none so bloomin' dry there; ain't you never comin' nigh there, 'Cross the ford o' Kabul river in the dark? Kabul town '11 go to hell — Blow the bugle, draw the sword — 'Fore I see him 'live an' well — 'Im the best beside the ford. Ford, ford, ford o' Kabul river. Ford o' Kabul river in the dark! Gawd 'elp 'em if they blunder, for their boots '11 pull 'em under. By the ford o' Kabul river in the dark. Turn your 'orse from Kabul town — Blow the bugle, draw the sword — 'Im an' 'arf my troop is down, Down and drownded by the ford. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 4«3 Ford, ford, ford o' Kabul river, Ford o' Kabul river in the dark' There's the river low an' fallin', but it ain't no use o callin 'Cross the ford o' Kabul river in the dark! GENTLEMEN-RANKERS '^ ™mne!f '°" "^ ^^^ '°" °""' '° '''^ "''°" °^ '""^ To my brethren in their sorrow overseas, ^med °''E"R"«"d cleanly bred, machinely cram- And a trooper of the Empress, if you please AnH '/Tr "^ '''" ""u'"" *''° '"'' "'" his own six horses, A ^1 ,. *^"' ''"' P'*^^ '"'I *«"t it blind. Bur t^? T^""""" '^'•" '''" ^''"^ •'<= ''^W "'^ ready tin. But to-day the Sergeant's something less than kind. We re poor little lambs who've lost our way Baa! Baa! Baa! " We're little black sheep who've gone astray. Baa— aa — aa! Gentlemen-rankers out on the spree. Damned from here to Eternity. God ha' mercy on such as we Baa! Yah! Bah! And it's sweet to hear the tales the troopers tell, AnTtK ""k k ""^J ''""'^'"''i''^ « the regimental hops And thrash the cad who says you waltz too well AnH J""''^' y™. <;°^'':''-hoop to be "Rider" to your troop, And branded with a blasted worsted spur Who WnT'''^ ^°l ''""'y>°"^ poor Tommy living cleanly Who blacks your boots and sometimes calls you "Sir '' 4«4 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE If the home we never write to, and the oaths we never keep. And all we know most distant and most dear, Across the snoring barrack-room return to break our sleep, Can you blame us if we soak ourselves in beer? VVhen the drunken comrade mutters and the great guard- lantern gutters And the horror of our fall is written plain, Every secret, self-revealing on the aching whitewashed ceil- ing, Do you wonder tliat we drug ourselves from pain? We have done with Hope and Honour, we are lost to l^ve and Truth, We are dropping down the ladder rung by rung. And the measure of our torment is the measure of our youth. God help us, for we knew the worst too young! Our shame is clean repentance for the crime that brought the sentence. Our pride it is to know no spur of pride. And the Curse of Reuben holds us till an alien turf enfolds us And we die, and none can tell Them where we died. We're poor little lambs who've lost our way. Baa! Baa! Baa! We're little black sheep who've gone astray, Baa — aa — aa! Gentlemen-rankers out on the spree, Damned from here to Eternity, God ha' mercy on such as we, Baa! Yah! Bah! ROUTE MARCHIN' \\^E'RE marchin' on relief over Injia's sunny plains, A little front o' Christmas-time an' just be'ind the Rains; Ho! get away you bullock-man, you've 'card the bugle blowed, There's a regiment a-comin' down the Grand Trunk Road; INCLUSIVE EDITION, 188S-1918 4«5 Wlth its best foot first And the road a-sliding past, ^"' "Ts't'''""'"'"* campin'-ground exactly like the VVhile_ the Big Drum says. With 'is "roaJy-dowJy-Jow f"~ " Kiko kissywarsti don't you hamsher argyjow f "' Oh, there's them Injian temples to admire when you see There s^the peacock round the corner an' the monkey up the An' there's that rummy silver-grass a-wavin' in the wind An the old Grand Trunk a-trailin' like a rifle-sling be'L. While It s best foot first, ... At half-past five's Revelly. an' our tents they down must Like a lot of button-mushrooms when you pick 'em u-^ ome. But it's over in a minute, an' at six the column starts, While the women and the kiddies sit an' shiver in the An It s best foot first, ... Oh then it's open order, an' we lights our pipes an' sines An we talks about our rations an' a lot of other things ^■ An we thinks o friends in England, an' we wonders what tney re at, An' 'ow they would admire for to hear us sling the bat '■ An' It's best foot first, ... It's none so bad o' Sundays, when you're lyin' at your ease To watch^^the kites a-wheelin' roind them foather-'eaded Hmdustan,. A. a n,a,«r of fact. h= depend, largely on .he sigSguag^ 486 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE For although there ain't no women, yet there ain't nobarrick- yards, So the orficers goes shootin' an' the men they plays at cards. Till it's best foot first, . . . So 'aric an' 'eed, you rookies, which is always grumblin' sore, There's worser things than marchin' from Umballa to Cawn- pore; An' if your 'eels are blistered an' they feels to 'urt like 'ell, You drop some tallow in your socks an' that will make 'em well. For it's best foot first, . . . We're marchin' on relief over Injia's coral strand, Eight 'undred fightin' Englishmen, the Colonel, and the Band; Ho! get away you bullock-man, you've 'eard the bugle blowed, There's a regiment a-comin' down the Grand Trunk Road; With its best foot first And the road a-sliding past. An' every bloomin' campin'-ground exactly like the last; While the Big Drum says, With 'is " rowdy^owdy-dovj !" — " Kiko kiisywarsti don't you hamshtr argyjoto f " SHILLIN' A DAY ^Y NAME is O'Kelly, I've heard the Revelly From Birr to Bareilly, from Leeds to Lahore, Hong-Kong and Peshawur. Lucknow and Etawah, .\ni fifty-five more all endin' in "pore." Black Death and his quickness, the depth and the thickness. Of sorrow and sickness I've known on my way, But I'm old and I'm nervis, INCLUSIVE EDITION. 188&-I918 487 I'm cast from the Service, And all I Ueservc is a shillin' a day. (Chorus) Shillin' a day, Bloomin' gtxMJ pay — Lucky to touch it, a shillin' a day! Oh, it drives mc half crazy to think of the day: I "ent slap for the Ghazi, my sword at my side » hen we rode Hell-for-leather Both squadrons together, That didn't care whether we lived or we died Hut It s no use despairin', my wife must go charin' An me commissairin', the pay-bills to better !» if me you be 'old In the wet and the cold. By the Grand Metropold won't you give me a letter? {Full chorus) Give 'im a letter— 'Can't do no better, Late Troop-Sergeant-Major an'— runs with a letter! Think what 'e's been, Think what 'e's seen. Think of his pension an' Gawd save the Queen! "BACK TO THE ARMY AGAIN" J'M 'ere in a ticky ulster an' a broken billycock 'at, A-Iayin on to the sergeant I don't know a gun from a bat- My shirt s dom duty for jacket, my sock's stiekin' out - my boots. An' I'm learnin' the damned old goose-step along o' the new recruits! 488 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Back to the Army again, sergeant, Back to the Army again. Don't look so 'ard, for I 'aven't no card, I'm back to the Army again! I done my six years' service. 'Er Majesty sez: "Good day— You'll please to come when you're rung for, an' 'ere's your 'ole back-pay; An' four-pence a day for baccy — an' bloomin' gen'rous, too; An' now you can make your fortune — the same as your orf'cers do." Back to the Army again, sergeant. Back to the Army again. 'Ow did I learn to do right-about-turn? I'm back to the Army again! A man o* four-an'-twenty that 'asn't learned of a trade — Beside "Reserve" agin' him — 'e'd better be never made. I tried my luck for a quarter, an' that was enough for me. An' I thought of 'Er Majesty's barricks, an' I thought I'd go an' see. Back to the Army again, sergeant. Back to the Army again. T isn't my fault if I dress when I 'alt — I'm back to the Army again! The sergeant arst no questions, but 'e winked the other eye, 'E sez to me, "Shun!" an' I shunted, the same as in days gone by; For 'e saw the set o' my shoulders, an' I couldn't 'elp 'oldin' straight When me an' the other rookies come under the barrick-gate. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 489 Back t rhe Army again, sergeant '■ici^' "S'"^ ^"' ' 'whaf'i'strd '''" "'"" '° ''" business!" an' so 'e done Back to the Army again, sergeant, Back to the Army again. Rather too free with my fancies? Wot— me" I m back to the .'\rmy again! Next week I'll 'ave 'em fitted; I'll buy me a swagger-cane- They 11 let me free o' the barricks to walk on the Hoe «ain ^"n'-a"nvTr T'"'^'" I'''''"'' '"^^ "^^'^ ^ ^ ^^wa^d ga" a day ! ^^^" """"" '' '"" ''"^ "y fourpence ' Carry and port his rifle. 490 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Back to the Army again, sergeant, Back to the Army again. Out o' the cold an' the rain, sergeant. Out o' the cold an' the rain. 'Oo's there? A man that's too good to be lost you, A man that is 'andled an' made — A man that will pay what 'e cost you In learnin' the others their trade — parade! You're droppin' the pick o' the Army Because you don't 'elp 'em remain. But drives 'em to cheat to get out o* the street An' back to the Army again! 'BIRDS OF PREY" MARCH ^l|i (Troops for Foreign Service) \/fARCH! The mud is cakin' good about our trousies. Front! — eyes front, an' watch the Colour-casin's drip. Front! The faces of the women in the 'ouses Ain't the kind o' things to take aboard the ship. Cheer ! An' we'll never march to victory. Cheer ! An we'll never live to 'ear the cannon roar ! The Large Birds o' Prey They will carry us away. An you'll never see your soldiers any more ! Wheel! Oh, keep your touch; we're goin' round a corner. Time! — mark time, an' let the men be'ind us close. Lord! The transport's full, an' 'alf our lot not on 'er — Cheer, O cheer! We're goinc off where no one knows. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 ^nu^' , '^t ^""'^'^ """<•■ '" '''••'^■'^ ^^ '«= is painted! . aT ^^.'"■. "^'^ ^"""^ ''"" '^'^''"'■"^ *'='■■« put away Alt an and 'er out— a woman's gone and fainted! Cheer! Get on!-Gawd 'elp the married men to-dav' 41JI rv T^ "P' y°" ""S'^y ''^Sgars, to ,'er sorrow. ( tar them say they want their tea, an' want it quick!) You won t have no mind for slingers,' not to-morrow- No; you 11 put the 'tween-decks stove out, bein' sick! 'Alt! The married kit 'as all to go before us' Course it's blocked the bloomin' gangway up again! Cheer, O cheer the 'Orse Guards watchin' tender o'er us Keepin us smce eight this mornin' in the rain! Stuck in 'eavy marchin'-order, sopped and wringin'- bick, before our time to watch 'er 'eave an' fall ■ J ,''T ,>PPy.'<""« « last, an' stop your singi'n'. Alt! tall m along the troop-deck! Silence all 1 C/uer ! For we'll never Ike to see no bloomin victory ' Lhecr ! An we'll never live to 'ear the cannon roar ! (One cheer more !) The jackal an' the kite Ave an 'ealthy appetite. An' you'll never see your soldiers any more ! ('Ip / Urroar ') The eagle an' the crow They are waitin' ever so, An' you'll never see your soldiers any more ' CIp Urroar >) Yes, the Large Birds 0' Prey They will carry us away, Jin' you'll never see your soldiers any more t ' Bread waked in tea. 492 RUDYARD KIPLING S VERSE "SOLDIER AN' SAILOR TOO" {The Royal Regiment of Marines) AS I was spittin' into the Ditch aboard o' the Crocodile, I seed a man on a man-o'-war got up in the Ree'lars' style. 'E was scrapin' the paint from off of 'er plates, an' I sez to 'im, "'Oo are you?" Sez 'e, "I'm a Jolly — 'Er Majesty's Jolly — soldier an' sailor too!" Now 'is work begins by Gawd knows when, and 'is work is never through; 'E isn't one o' the reg'lar Line, nor 'e isn't one of the crew. 'E's a kind of a giddy harumfrodite — soldier an' sailor too! An', after, I met 'im all over the world, a-doin' all kinds of things, Like landin' 'isself with a Gatlin' gun to talk to them 'eathen kings; 'E sleeps in an 'ammiciv instead of a cot, an' 'e drills with the deck on a slew, An' 'e sweats like a Jolly — 'Er Majesty's Jolly — soldier an* sailor too! For there isn't a job on the top o' the earth the beggar don't know, nor do — You can leare 'im at night on a bald man's 'ead, to paddle 'is own canoe — 'E's a sort of a bloomin' cosmopolouse — soldier an' sailor too. We've fought 'em in trooper, we've fought 'em in dock, and drunk with 'em in betweens, When they called us the seasick scull'ry-maids, an' we called 'em the Ass-Marines; INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 493 But, when we was down for a double fatigue, from Woolwich to Bernardmyo, We sent for the Jollies-'Er Majesty's Jollies-soldier an' sailor too! They think for 'emselves, an' they steal for 'emselves, and they never ask what's to do, But they're camped an' fed an' they're up an' fed before our bugle s blew. Ho! they ain't no limpin' procrastitutes— soldier an' sailor too. You may say we are fond of an 'arness-cut, or 'ootin' in barrick-yards, Or startin' a Board School mutiny along o' the Onion Guards • But once m a while we can finish in style for the ends of the' earth to view, The same as the Jollies-'Er Majesty's Jollies-soldier an sailor too! They come of our lot, they was brothers to us; they was beggars we'd met an' knew; Yes, barrin' an inch in the chest an' the arm, they was doubles o me an you; For they weren't no special chrysanthemums-soldier an' sailor too! To take your chance in the thick of a rush, with firing all about, " Is nothing so bad when you've cover to 'and, an' leave an' likin' to shout; But to stand an' be still to the Birken'ead drill is a damn' tough bullet to chew. An' they done it, the Jollies-'Er Majesty's Jollies— sol- dier an' sailor too! Their work was done when it 'adn't begun; they was younger nor me an' you; 494 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Their choice it was plain between drownin' in 'eaps an' bein' mopped by the screw, So they stood an' was still to the Birken'ead drill, soldier an' sailor too! We're most of us liars, we're 'arf of us thieves, an' the rest are as rank as can be, But once in a while we can finish in style (which I 'ope it won't 'appen to me). But it makes you think better o' you an' your friends, an' the work you may 'ave to do. When you think o' the sinkin' yictorier's Jollies — soldier an' sailor too! Now there isn't no room for to say ye don't know — they 'ave proved it plain and true — That, whether it's Widow, or whether it's ship, Victorier's work is to do, An' they done it, the Jollies — 'Er Majesty's Jollies — sol- dier an' sailor too! SAPPERS {Royal Engineers) '\XrHEN the Waters were dried an' the Earth did appear, ("It's all one," says the Sapper), The Lord He created the Engineer, Her Majesty's Royal Engineer, With the rank and pay of a Sapper! When the Flood come along for an extra monsoon, T was Noah constructed the first pontoon To the plans of Her Majesty's, etc. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 49J n^} ^^^" '"^S"^ '" the wet an' the sun, Old Noah got drunk, which he wouldn't ha' done Ir he d trained with, etc. When the Tower o' Babel had mixed up men's iat' imme clever civilian was managing that, An' none of, etc. When the Jews had a fight at the foot of a hill, lOTing Joshua ordered the sun to stand still, For he was a Captain of Engineers, etc. When the Children of Israel made bricks without straw, ihey were learnm the regular work of our Corps, The work of, etc. For ever since then, if a war they would wage, Behold us a-shinin' on history's page — First page for, etc. We lay down their sidings an' help 'em entrain. An we sweep up their mess through the bloomin' campaign In the style of, etc. They send us in front with a fuse an' a mine To blow up the gates that are rushed by the Line. But bent by, etc. They send us behind with a pick an' a spade. To dig for the guns of a bullock-brigade Which has asked for, etc. We work under escort in trousers and shirt. An the heathen they plug us .ail-up in the dirt Annoying, etc. ' 'Talk. 496 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE We blast out the rock an' wc shovel the mud, We make 'em good roads an'— they roll down the khud,* Reporting, etc. We make 'em their bridges, their wells, an' their huts, An' the telegraph-wire the enemy cuts. An' it's blamed on, etc. An' when we return, an' from war we would cease, They grudge us adornin' the billets of peace. Which are kept for, etc. We build 'em nice barracks — they swear they are bad. That our Colonels are Methodist, married or mad, Insultin' etc. They haven't no manners nor gratitude too, For the more that we help 'em, the less will they do. But mock at, etc. Now the Line's but a man with a gun in his hand, An' Cavalry's only what horses can stand, When helped by, etc. Artillery moves by the leave o' the ground. But iee are the men that do something all round, For we are, etc. I have stated it plain, an' my argument's thus ("It's all one," says the Sapper) There's only one Corps which is perfect — that's us; An' they call us Her Majesty's Engineers, Her Majesty's Royal Engineers, With the rank and pay of a Sapper! ■Hillside. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 497 THAT DAY ■alt. JT GOT beyond all orders an" it got beyond all 'ope; It 'ot to shammin- wounded an' retirin' from the 'a O e compan,« was lookin' for the nearest road t" slope It were just a bloomm' knock-out-an' our fault! Now there ain't no chorus 'ere to ghe. Nor there ain't no band to play ■ yin'I wish I was dead 'fore I done what I did Or seen what I seed that day ! We was sick o' bein' punished, an' we let 'em know it, too- A^J^ "'"Pony-commander up an' 'it us with a sword ' An some one shouted ' 'Ook it!" an' it come to sove-k^Lo An we chucked our rifles from us-O my Gawd! There was thirty dead an' wounded on the ground we wouldn t keep — 8'"""" we No, there^wasn't more than twenty when the front begun ^"in^!l,"" ' ''°"f, "'" ''"' °' "'g'^' "-^^y ^"<: "S up like sheep An that was all we gained by doin' so! "= ^neep, see " ' ^""^ '"' '""^^ ^ '^'''"^ '"l" to ^'115 r/i* "" u'f f ">"?""' °"' f"^ ^"•■'■■te'- ^^ 'e ran. An I thought I knew the voice an'-it was me! We was 'idin' under bedsteads more than 'arf a march awav An^tL^M'^'" "f '''5'=.-^\^'''" ''" '''^™' '^^ countryside* '^■ An the^Major cursed '.s Maker 'cause 'e'd lived to see ^hat An' the Colonel broke 'is sword acrost, an' cried. 498 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE ■I!:.:; We was rotten 'fore we started — we was never &x\plmeds We made it out a favour if an order was obeyed. Yes, every little drummer 'ad 'is rights an' wrongs to mind, So we had to pay for teachin' — an' we paid! The papers 'id it 'andsome, but you know the Army knows; Wc was put togroomin' camels till the regiments withdrew, An' they gave us each a medal for subduin' England's foes, An' I 'ope you like my song — because it's true! ^n' there ain't no chorus 'ere to give. Nor there ain't »o hand to play; But I wish I was dead 'fore I dme what I did. Or seen what I seed that day ! "TiE MEN THAT FOUGHT AT MINDEN" {In the Lodge of Instruction) TTHE men that fought at Minden, they was rookies in their time — So was them that fought at Waterloo! All the 'ole command, yuss, from Minden to Maiwand, They was once dam' sweeps like you! Then do not be discouraged, 'Eaven is your 'e/per, IVe'll learn you not to forget; An' you mustn't swear an' curse, or you'll only catch it worse. For we'll make you soldiers yet ! The men that fought at Minden, they 'ad stocks beneath their chins, Six inch 'igh an' more; But fatigue it was their pride, and they would not be denied To clean the cook-'ouse floor. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 188&-1918 4,;,, The men^that fought at Mindcn. they 'ad buttons up an" Two-an '-twen ty dozen of 'em told : But they d,dn t grouse an' shirk at an hour's extry work They kept 'em bright as gold. ' ' "^^ ""ketli." '"'''' "' ^'""^"'- '^^y *"» "-'='' with -- Also, they' was drilled by 'alberdiers; I don t^know what they were, but the sergeants took good They washed be'ind their ears. The men^th_at fought at Minden, they was civil-yuss. they Never didn't talk o' rights an' wrongs, But they got ,t with the toe (same as you will get it-so')- I-or interrupting songs. " fci-C U so.J — '"'' Wh"i-.t"y 1""?''' " ^^T'"''' '''^■>- ^-^ ^-^-='' "^her things "(ii^h 1 don t remember clear- ^ B-r M«/'. the reason why, now the six-vear men ..re c'rv The rooks will stand the beer! ' ^ $oo RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Then do not ht discouragej, 'Eaten it your 'tiper, IVe'll learn you not lo/orrel. An' you mustn't swear an curse, or you'll only catch it worse. And we'll make you soldiers yet 7 Soldiers ytl, if you've got it in you — Alt for the sake of the Core; Soldiers yet, if we 'ave to skin you — Run an' get the beer, Johnny Raw — Johnny Raw I Ho I run an' get the beer, Johnny Raw ! .liljl CHOLERA CAMP {Infantry in India) ■^X^E'VE got the cholercr in camp — it's worse than forty fights; We're dyin' in the wilderness the same as Isrulites; It's before us, an' be'ind us, an' we cannot get away, An' the doctor's just reported we've ten more to-day! Oh, strike your camp an' go, the bugle's callin' , The Rains arefallin — The dead are bushed an' stoned to keep 'em safe below. The Band's a-doin 'alt she knows to cheer us; The Chaplain's gone and prayed to Gawd to 'ear us — : To 'ear us — 0 Lord, for it's a-killin of us so ! Since August, when it started, it's been stickin' to our tail. Though they've 'ad us our by marches an' they've 'ad us back by rail; But it runs as fast as troop trains, and we cannot get away; An' the sick-list to the Colonel makes ten more to-day. INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 50, There ain't no fun in women nor there ain't no Lite to drink- It , much t,x. wet for shootin'; we can only march ami th n^ An at evenm , down the nullah^ we can 'car the ia "ka Llav' Oet up. you rotten beggars, youVe ten more tiday!" '^ ""tigs"- " '"°"'"^'' ""*«'' '° '"^-^ "- «'^y "' J-"' Lieutenants takin' companies an' Captains takin' wings An Lances act.n Sergeants-eight file to obey- *" For we ve lots ,. quick promotion on ten deaths a clay! Our Colonel's white an' twitterly-'e gets no sleep nor f.Kxl But mucks about m 'orspital where nothing doe, .^"Jk d ' E sends us 'caps o' c^omforts, all bought f^m 'is ay^- But there aren t much comfort 'andy on ten deaths i^day. aI!' r^^^'t"^' ^°' " ''?"j''' ""' " ^'''""v '""!>-■ V- rides An the stuff he says an' sines us I^rH ;V „„t ",.' sides! "'"ss "S. l-ord, it makes us spht our With 'is black coat-tails a-bobbin' to Ta-ra-ra Boam-d.r-ay ' E s the proper kmd o' padr, for ten deaths a day. ^' H Kn"owr.y>"'" 'fr- "r ^''"^ ""■■ '^°'"='" Catholicks- H_ Knows an eap of Insh songs an' rummy conjurin'-tricks- An the^two they works together when it'comjs to pHy „; So we keep the ball a-rollin' on ten deaths a day. We've got the cholerer in camp-we've eot it 'ot in' ,w. , t am't no Christmas dinner, but it's 'elped an' we must J- t We vegone beyond the funkin', 'cause w'e've found !t doesn't An' we're r'ockin' round the Districk on ten deaths a dav! 502 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Then strike your camp an' go, the'Rains arefallin'. The Bugle's callin' 1 The dead are bushed an' stoned to keep 'em safe below ! An' them that do not like it they can lump it. An' them that can not stand it they can jump it; We've got to die somewhere — some way — some'ow — IVe might as well begin to do it now ! Then, Number One, let down the tent-pole slow, Knock out the pegs an 'old the comers — so ! Fold in the fiies^Jurl up the ropes, an stow I Oh, strike — oh, strike your camp an' go ! {Gawd 'elp us .') THE LADIES I 'VE taken my fun where I've found It; I've rogued an' I've ranged in my time; I've 'ad my pickin' o' sweethearts, An' four o' the lot was prime. One was an 'arf-caste widow, One was a woman at Prome, One was the wife of ajemadar-sais,^ An' one is a girl at 'ome. Now I aren't no 'and with the ladies. For, takin' 'em all along. You never can say till you've tried 'em. An' then you are like to be wrong. There's times when you'll think that you mightn't. There's times when you'll know that you might; But the things you will learn from the Yellow an' Brown, They'll 'elp you a lot with the White ! ^ Head-groom. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 503 I was a young un at 'Oogli, Shy as a girl to begin; Aggie de Castrer she made me, An' Aggie was clever as sin; Older than me, but my first un — More like a mother she were — Showed me the way to promotion an' pay. An I learned about women from 'er! Then 1 was ordered to Burma, Actin' in charge o' Bazar, An' I got me a tiddy live 'eathen Through buyin' supplies off 'er pa. Funny an' yellow an' faithful- Doll in a teacup she were. But we lived on the square, like a true-married pair. An' I learned atxut women from 'er! Then we was shifted to Neemuch (Or I might ha' been keepin' "er now), An' I took with a shiny she-devil. The wife of a nigger at Mhow; Taught me the gipsy-folks' bolee;'^ Kind o' volcano she were, For she knifed me one night 'cause I wished she was white, And I learned about women from 'er! Then I come 'ome in a trooper, 'Long of a kid o' sixteen — • 'Girl from a convent at Meerut, The straightest I ever 'ave seen. Love at first sight was 'er trouble. She didn't know what it were; An' I wouldn't do such, 'cause I liked 'er too much, But — I learned about women from 'er! ' Slang. S04 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE I've taken my fun where I've found it, An' now I must pay for my fun, For the more you 'ave known o' the others The less will you settle to one; An' the end of it's sittin' and thinkin', An' dreamin' Hell-fires to see; So be_ warned by my lot (which I know you will not). An' learn about women from me! ff^hat did the Colonel's Lady think ? Nobody never knew. Somebody asked the Sergeant's K^i/e, An' she told 'em true ! When you get to a man in the case. They're like as a row of pins — For the Colonel's Lady an' Judy 0' Grady Are sisters under their skins ! BILL 'AWKINS « '^S ANYBODY seen Bill 'Awkins?" ... , "Now 'ow in the devil would I know?" "E s taken my girl out walkin'. An' I've got to tell 'im so— Gawd — bless — 'im ! I've got to tell 'im so." "D" yer know what 'e's like, Bill "Awkins?" "Now what in the devil would I care?" "E's the livin', breathin' image of an organ-grinder's monkey, With a pound of grease in 'is 'air — Gawd — bless — 'im ! An' a pound o' grease in 'is 'air." INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 "An' s'pose you met Bill 'Awkins, ^^ ^ Now what in the devil 'ud ye do?" 'I'd open 'is cheek to 'is chin-strap buckle, An' bung up 'is both eyes, too— Gawd — bless — 'im ! An' bung up 'is both eyes, too!" "Look 'ere, where 'e comes. Bill 'Awkins! Now, what in the devil will you sayi"' "'' c"'Ml' *"' ^'"P" '° ^ "e'^tin' on a Sunday, bo 1 11 pass 'im the time o' day — Gawd — bless — 'im ! I'll pass 'im the time o' day'" SOS THE MOTHER-LODGE 'pHERE was Rundle, Station Master, _ An' Beazeley of the Rail, An 'Ackman, Commissariat, An' Donkin' o' the Jail; An Blake, Conductor-Sergeant, Our Master twice was 'e, With 'im that kept the Europe-shop, Old Framjee Eduljee. Outside—" Sergeant ! Sir! Salute! Salaam!" Inside— " Brother," an' it doesn't do no 'arm. IVemet upon the Level an' we parted on the Square, An I was Junior Deacon in my Mother-Lodge out there ! We'd Bola Nath, Accountant, An' Saul the Aden Jew, An' Din Mohammed, draughtsman Of the Survey Office too; ;o6 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE There was Babu Chuckerbutty, An' Amir Singh the Sikh, An' Castro from the fittin'-sheds, The Roman Catholick! We 'adn't good regalia, An' our Lodge was old an' bare, But we knew the Ancient Landmarks, An' we kep' 'em to a hair; An' lookin' on it backwards It often strikes me thus. There ain't such things as infidels, Excep', per'aps, it's us. For monthly, after Labour, We'd all sit down and smoke (We dursn't give no banquets, Lest a Brother's caste were broke), An' m.an on man got talkin' Religion an' the rest. An' every man comparin* Of the God 'e knew the best. So man on man got talkin', An' not a Brother stirred Till mornin' waked the parrots An' that dam' brain-fever-bird; We'd say 'twas 'ighly curious, An' we'd all ride 'ome to bed. With Mo'ammed, God, an' Shiva Changin' pickets in our 'ead. Full oft on Guv'ment service This rovin' foot 'ath pressed. An' bore fraternal greetin's To the Lodges east an' west, t«i»«Ai.J INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 Accordin' as commanded. From Kohat to Singapore, But I wish that I might see them In my Mother-Lodge once more! I wish that I might see them, My Brethren black an' brown. With the trichies smellin' pleasant An' the hog-dam^ passin' down; An the old khansamah= snorin' On the bottle-khana' floor. Like a Master in good standing With my Mother-Lodge once more. Outside—-' Sergeant ! Sir! Salute! Salaam'" J"side— Brother," an' it doesn't do no 'arm. IVe^ met upon .he Level an' we parted on the Square An I was Junior Deacon in my Mother-Lodge out there ' S07 "FOLLOW ME 'OME" 'J'HERE was no one like 'im, 'Orse or Foot,' _ Nor any o' th^- Guns I knew An because it was so, why, o' course 'e went an' died. Which IS just what thf best men do. So it's^ knock out ynnr pipes a:,' follow me ! An It s finish up _, ow- s-ji-ipes an Jollow me ! Oh, ark to the big drum callin', Fullov) me~/ollow me 'ome ! 'Ciijar-liyhter. 'Butle 'Pantry. So8 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE 'Is mare she neighs the 'ole day long, She paws the 'ole night through, An' she won't take 'er feed 'cause o' waitin' for 'is step, Which is just what a beast would do. 'Is girl she goes with a bombardier Before 'er month is through; An' the banns are up in church, for she's got the beggar hooked. Which is just what a girl would do. We fought 'bout a dog— last week it were — No more than a round or two; But I strook 'im cruel 'ard, an' I wish I 'adn't now, Which is just what a man can't do. 'E was all that I 'ad in the way of a friend, An' I've 'ad to find one new; But I'd give my pay an' stripe for to get the beggar back, Which it's just too late to do. So it's knock out your pipes an' follow me! An' it's finish up your swipes an' follow me I Oh, 'ark to the fifes a-crawlin' ! Follow me— follow me 'ome ! Take 'im away ! 'E's gone where Ike best men go. Take 'im away ! An' the gun-wheels turnin' slow. Take 'im away ! There's more from the place 'e come. Take 'im away, with the limher an' the drum. For it's " Three rounds blank" an' follow me, An' it's " Thirteen rank" an' follow me; Oh, passin' the love o' women. Follow me— follow me 'ome ! INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 THE SERGEANT'S WEDDIN' '£ WAS warned agin 'er— That's what made 'im look; She was warned agin" 'im— That is why she took. 'Wouldn't 'ear no reason, 'Went an' done it blind; We know all about 'em, They've got all to find! Cheer for the Sergeant's wedjin'— Give 'em one cheer more ! Grey gun-'orses in the lando, An' a rogue is married to, etc. What's the use o' tellin' 'Arf the lot she's been? E's a bloomin' robber, An' 'e keeps canteen. 'Ow did 'e get 'is buggy? Gawd, you needn't ask! 'Made 'is forty gallon Out of every cask ! 509 Watch 'im, with 'is 'air cut. Count us filin' by— Won't the Colonel praise 'is Pop — u — lar — i — ty ! We 'ave scores to settle- Scores for more than beer; She's the girl to pay 'em— That is why we're 'ere! i Sio RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE See the Chaplain thinkin'? See the women smile? Twig the married winkin' As they take the aisle? Keep your side-arms quiet, Dressin' by the Band. Ho! You 'oly beggars, Cough be'ind your 'and! Now it's done an' over, 'Ear the organ squeak, " 'f^oice that brtathed o'er Eden " Ain't she got the cheek! White an' laylock ribbons. Think yourself so fine! I'd pray Gawd to take yer 'Fore I made yer mine! Escort to the kerridge. Wish 'im luck, the brute! Chuck the slippers after — [Pity 't ain't a boot!] Bowin' like a lady, Blushin' like a lad — 'Oo would say to see 'em Both is rotten bad ? Cheer/or the Sergeant's weddin' — Ghe 'em one cheer more 1 Grey gun- ones in the lando. An' a rogue is married to, etc. INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 5" THE JACKET (Royal Horse Artillery) "pHROUGH the Plagues of Egyp' we was chasin' Arabi, Oettin down an" shovin' in the sun; An' you might ave called us dirty, an' you might ha" called us An' you might 'ave 'eard us talkin' at the gun. But the Captain 'ad 'is jacket, an' the jacket it was new— ( Orse Gunners, listen to my song!) An' the wettin' of the jacket is the proper thing to do, Nor we didn't keep 'im waiting very long. One day they gave us orders for to shell a sand redoubt, Loadin' down the axle-arms with case; But the Captain knew 'is dooty, an' he took the crackers out An' he put some proper liquor in its place. An' the Captain saw the shrapnel, which is six-an'-thirty clear. ('Orse Gunners, listen to my song!) "Will you draw the weight," sez 'e, "or will you draw the beer?" An' we didn't keep 'im waiting very long. For the Captain, etc. Then we trotted gentle, not to break the bloomin* glass, Though the Arabites 'ad all their ranges marked; But we durs n't 'ardly gallop, for the most was bottled Bass, An' we'd dreamed of it since we was disembarked: So we fired economic with the shells we 'ad in 'and, ('Orse Gunners, listen to my song!) But the beggars under cover 'ad the impidence to stand. An' we couldn't keep 'em waitin' very long. And the Captain, etc. 511 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE So we finished 'arf the liquor (an' the Captain took cham- ^ pagne), An' the Arabites was shcxjtin" all the while; An' we left our wounded 'appy with the empties on the plain, An' we used the bloomin' guns for projec/i7f / We limbered up an' galloped — there were nothin' else to do— ('Orse Gunners, listen to my song!) An' the Battery come a-boundin' like a boundin' kangaroo, But they didn't watch us comin' very long. As Ihe Captain, etc. We was goin' most extended — we was drivin' very fine. An' the Arabites were loosin' 'igh an' wide, Till the Captain took the glacis with a rattlin' "right in- cline," An' we dropped upon their 'eads the other side. Then we give 'em quarter — such as 'adn't up and cut ('Orse Gunners, listen to my song!) An' the Captain stood a limberful of fizzy somethin' Brutt, But we didn't leave it fizzing very long. For the Captain, etc. We might ha' been court-martialled, but it all come out all right When they signalled us to join the main command. There 'as every round expe ided, there was every gunner An' the Captain waved a (orkscrew in 'is 'and! But the Captain 'ad ''.s jacket, etc. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 S"J THE EATHEN t don t obey no orders unless they is 'is own; E keeps „ „de.arnis awful: e leaves 'em all about, An then comes up the Regiment an' pokes the 'eathen out. ^11 along o- Jirlinas, all along o' mess, ^1 along 0 doin- things ralher-more-or-Uss, M along o/atiy-nay,' kul,^ an' hazar-hoi Mind you keep your rifle an' yourself jus' so ! *^'" ''XeT'"''' '" ■'"'8'"y-'^ ''"^'» ^'om Gawd know. Klhlt'bi^''""'. '' ""^l''"'',''"' ''•y - mattress square; An- th-n '". ■ "°"'^"«- e doesn't know, no more- An then up comes ',s Company an kicks 'im roukd th^oor! The young recruit is 'ammered-'e takes it very hard- I ^'Jf: 'f .f"^ ^" n,utters-'e sulks about the'^ard; An' f o^h '™'' '''"""' ^^""^ '-=■" »*i"g for by-'an'-by An the others ears an' mocks 'im, an' the boy goes orf to cry.' The young recruit is silly-'e thinks o' suicide- B,,, r U «:"'"::^'ti '^ »»"•' got 'is pride; Til -eYnH^ • ''.'^^ ^"'■^' >' "^''^ '^'P" '™ O" a bit, r.11 e finds isself one mornin' with a full an' proper kit. Gettin' clear o' dirtiness, gettin' done mth mess, Getltn shuto dom' things rather-more-or-less; Not so fond of aiiy.nay, kul, nor hazar-ho. Learns to keep is rifle an' 'isselfjus' so ' ' Not now. ■ To-morroH . ' Wait a bit. '14 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE The young recruit is 'appy— 'e throws a chest to suit; Vou see "im grow mustaches; you 'ear 'im slap 'is hoot; 'K learns to drop the " hlooilies" from every word 'e slings, An' 'c shows an 'ealthy brisket when 'c strips for bars an' rings. The cruel-tyrant-sergcants they watch 'im 'arf a year; They watch 'im with 'is comrades, they watch 'im with 'is beer; They watch 'im with the women at the regimental dance, And the cruel-tyrant-sergeants send 'is name along for "Lance." ml An' now 'e's 'arf o' nothin', an' all a private yet, 'Is room they up an' rags 'im to see what they will get. They rags 'im low an' cunnin', each dirty trick they can. But 'e learns to sweat 'is temper an' 'e learns to sweat 'is man. An', last, a Colour-Sergeant, as such to be obeyed, 'E schools 'is men at cricket, 'c tells 'em on parade; They sees 'im quick an' 'andy, uncommon set an' smart. An' so 'e talks to orficers which 'ave the Core at 'eart. 'E learns to do 'is watchin' without it showin' plain; 'E learns to save a dummy, an' shove 'im straight again; 'E learns to check a ranker that's buyin' leave to s^irk; An' 'e learns to make men like 'im so they'll learn to like their work. An| when it comes to marchin' he'll see their socks are right, An' when it comes to action 'e shows 'em how to sight. 'E knows their ways of thinkin' and just what's in their mind; 'E knows when they are takin' on an' when they've fell be'ind. INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885^19:8 5,3 fc. fifls is innanls 'eavin , 'is Ix.wels givin' wa\ ■ t. sn-s thu Lliic-whin- faces all tryiti' 'anl to grii An c staiuls an' waits an' suftrs till it's time t. ..,, cm in. An| now the huj.;/ bullets come peckin' through the dust An no one wants to face 'em, but every beggar must; ' So, like a man m irons, which isn't glad to go, rhey moves 'em off by companies uncommon stiff an' slow. Of all 'is five years' schoolin' they don't remember much txcep the not retreatin', the step an' keepin' touch. It looks like teachin' wasted when they duck an' spread an" op — ' But if "e adn't learned 'em they'd be all about the shop. An' now it's "'Oo goes backward?" an' now it's '"Go comes on: And now it's "Get the doolies," an' now the Captain's gone: An now it s bloody murder, but all the while they 'ear Is voice, the same as barrick-drill, a-shepherdin' the rear. "E's just as sick as they are, 'is 'eart is like to split, But e works 'em, works 'em, works 'em till he feels 'em take the bit; "The rest is 'oldin' steady till the watchful bugles play. An e lifts em. lifts 'em, lifts 'em through the charge that wins the day! ° Ti'?'^'"" '" '" l>'''"i»"! bows down to wood an' stone; E don t obey no orders unless they is 'is own. The 'eat/ten in 'is blindness must end where 'e began But the backbone of the Army is the Noncommissioned Man ! Keep awayjrom dirtiness— keep away from mess, Don t get into doin' things rather-more-or-less ! Let sha' done with abby-nay, kut, and hazar-ho; Mmdyou keep your rifle an' yourself jus' so ! Si6 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE THE SHUT-EYE SENTRY CEZ the Junior Orderly Sergeant To the Senior Orderly Man: "Our Orderly Orfcer's hokee-mut,^ "You 'elp 'im all you can. "For the wine was old and the night is cold, "An' the best we may go wrong, "So, 'fore 'e gits to the sentry-box, "You pass the word along." So it was "Rounds ! IVhat Rounds ?" at two of a frosty night, 'E's 'oldin' on by the sergeant's sash, but, sentry, shut your eye. An' it was " Pass ! All's well ! Oh, ain't 'e drippin' tight 1 'Ell need an affidavit pretty badly by-an'-by. " The moon was white on the barricks. The road was white an' wide. An' the Orderly Orfcer took it all, An' the ten-foot ditch beside. An' the corporal pulled an' the sergeant pushed. An' the three they danced along. But I'd shut my eyes in the sentry-box, So I didn't see nothin' wrong. Though it was " Rounds ! IVhat Rounds ?" 0 corporal, 'old 'im up ! 'E's usin' 'is cap as it shouldn't be used, but, sentry, shut your eye. An' it was 'Pass ! AW swell! Ho, shun thefoamin' eup ! 'E'll need, " etc. 'Very drunk. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 T was after four in the mornin'; We 'ad to stop the fun, ■'^"' *f *.«"' '■"> 'ome on a bullock-cart. With IS belt an" stock undone; But we sluiced 'im down an' we washed 'im out. An a Jirst-class job we made, When we saved 'im, smart as a bombardier, l"or SIX o clock parade. S17 ff^Aat Rounds? Oh, shone It 'ad been "Rounds! straight again ! Js usin' -is sword/or a bicycle, but, sentry, shut your eye " jZ, ■ ^'''^ «""''•'" 'E's called m'e "dTiM 'E'll need, " etc. The drill was long an" 'eavy. The sky was 'ot an' blue. ' An' 'is eye was wild an' 'is 'air vas wet. But IS sergeant pulled 'im through. Our men was good old trusties— They'd done it on their 'ead- But you ought to 'ave 'card 'em'markin' time io ide the things 'e said! For Uwas^^'Rightflank-^heeirjor -'Alt, an' stand at ^""y^re^eV"" ■^'"' "'''"'" ''""'" ° ""''"'' '>"" An- it was, -Ere sir, 'ere ! before the Colonel sees !" io he needed affidavits pretty badly by^m'-by. There was two-an'-thirty sergeants, There was corp'rals forty-one, There was just nine 'undred rank an' file To swear to a touch o' sun. Si8 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE There was me 'e *d kissed in the sentry-box, As I 'ave not told in my song, But I took my oath, which were Bible-truth, I 'adn't seen nothin' wrong. There's them that's 'ot an' 'aughty, There's them that's cold an' 'ard, But there comes a night when the best gets tight, And then turns out the Guard. I've seen them 'ide their liquor In every kind o' way, But most depends on makin' friends With Privit Thomas A.! When it is "Rounds! What Rounds? 'E's breathin' through 'is nose. 'E's reelin', roUin',roarin', tight, iut, sentry, shut your eye." j4n' it is "Pass ! AWs well!" An' that's the way it goes: We'll 'elp 'imfor 'is mother, an' 'e'll 'elp us by-an'-by ! •MARY, PITY WOMEN!" VOU call yourself a man. For all you used to swear. An' leave me, as you can. My certain shame to bear? I 'ear! You do not care — You done the worst you know. I 'ate you, grinnin' there. . . . Ah, Gawd, I love you so! Nice while it lasted, an' now it is over — Tear out your 'eart an good-bye to your lover ! What's the use o' grieoin', when the mother that bore you (Mary, pity women .') knew it all before you ? INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 It aren't no false alarm, The finish to your fun; You— you 'ave brung the 'arm, An' I'm the ruined one; An' now you'll off an' run With some new fool in tow. Your 'eart? You 'aven't none. . . . Ah, Gawd, I love you so! f^hen a man is tired there is naught will bind 'im; All e solemn promised 'e will shove be'ind 'im mat's the good o' pray in' for The IVrath to strike 'im (Mary, ptty women!), when the rest are like 'im !' What 'ope for me or — it? _ What's left for us to do? I've walked with men a bit, But this — but this is you. So 'elp me Christ, it's true! Where can I 'ide or go? You coward through and through! Ah, Gawd, I love you so! ^11 the more you give 'em the less are they for givin'— Love lies dead, an' you can not kiss 'im livin'. Down the road 'e led you there is no retumin' (Mary, pity women .'), but you're late in leamin' 1 You'd like to treat me fair? You can't, because we're pore? We'd starve? What do I care! We might, but this is shore! I want the name — no more — The name, an' lines to show. An' not to be an 'ore. . . Ah, Gawd, I love you so! S'9 S20 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE What's the good o' pleadin', when the mother that bore you {Mary, pity women .') knew it all bejore you ? Sleep on 'is promises an' wake to your sorrow (Mary, pity women !),/or we iiil to-morrow ! "FOR TO ADMIRE" "TpHE Injian Ocean sets an' smiles So sof', so briglit, so bloomin' blue; There ar-n't a wsve for miles an' miles Exrep' the jiggle from the screw. The ship is swep', the day is done. The bugle's gone for smoke and play; An' black ag'in the settin' sun The Lascar sings, "Hum deckty hai .'"' For to admire an' for to see, For to be'old this world so wide — // necer done no good to me. But I can't drop it if I tried ! I see the sergeants pitchin' quoits, I 'ear the women laugh an' talk, I spy upon the quarter-deck The orficers an' lydies walk. I thinks about the things that was. An' leans an' looks acrost the sea. Till, spite of all the crowded ship. There's no one lef alive but me. The things that was which I 'ave seen. In barrick, camp, an' action too, I tells them over by myself, An' sometimes wonders if they're true; 'I'm looking out. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 For they was odd-most awful odd- Hut all the same now they are o'er. There must be 'eaps o' plenty such, An if I wait I'll see some more. Oh, I 'ave come upon the books. An frequent broke a barrick-rule An stood beside an' watched myself Beavin hke a bloomin' fool. I paid my price for findin' out. Nor never grutched the price I paid, JJut sat in Clink without my boots, Admirin' 'ow the world was made. Be'old a cloud upon the beam, ni^"^ j'""?-1'' ^'^^^ '•'^ ^» appears Old Aden, like a barrick-stove That no one's lit for years an' years' i passed by that when I began, An' I go 'ome the road I came, A time-expired soldier-man With six years' service to 'is name. My girl she said, "Oh, stay with me!" My mother 'eld me to 'er breast. Ihey ve never written none, an' so They must 'ave gone with all the rest— Withall the rest which I 'ave seen An found an' known an' met along 1 cannot say the things I feel. And so I sing my evenin" song: For to admire an' for to see. For to be'old this world so wide— It never done no good to me But I can't drop it if I tried ! SH Sit RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE 1899 (Boer War) " 'T'OMMY" you was when it began. But now that it is o'er You shall be called The Service Man 'Enceforward, evermore. Batt'ry, brr%ade, flank, centre, van. Defaulter, Army-corps — From first to last. The Service Man 'Enceforward, evermore. From ' Alifax to 'Industan, From York to Singapore — 'Orse,foot, an guns. The Service Man 'Enceforward, evermore 1 THE ABSENT-MINDED BEGGAR 'VXT'HEN you've shouted "Rule Britannia," when you've sung "God save the Queen," When you've finished killing Kruger with your mouth, Will you kindly drop a shilling in my little tambourine For a gentleman in kharki ordered South ? He's an absent-minded beggar, and his weaknesses are great— But we and Paul must take him as we find him— He is out on active service, wiping something off a slate — And he's left a lot of little things behind him! Duke's son — cook's son — son of a hundred kings — (Fifty thousand horse and foot going to Table Bay!) Each of 'em doing his country's work (and who's to look after their things?) Pass the hat for your credit's sake, and pay — pay — pay! i-trH INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 5^3 There are yirls he married secret, asking no permission to For he knew he wouldn't get it if he did. P'™""°" '°' There ^^gas and coals and vittles, and the house-rent falling And it's more than rather likely there's a kid, " h's^go:.': """' ""' ""'''■ """^y'" •'^ ^"y "°- BuHt lV^T'''"'''"i"^ ^^«" '^'y *'" fi"d h™. But It am t the t.me for sermons with the winter coming on Co^'s^s^^J^^'r- ' «'■"' """ ^°"""y'' '^f' behind Wm! ^ spnT-duke s son-son of a belted earl- F^h "(■ Lambeth publican-it's all the same to^lay- tach of em doing his country's work ^ (and who's to look after the girl?) rass the hat for your credit's sake, and pay— pay— pay! ^^ZT.h ^^m'"" 'T-''""""^''''" '<» P™"d to begor speak An^ thev'lfl P"' 't'l'/V^""* ""'^ ''^''''■"g "P the^spouT, And theyjl hve on half o' nothing, paid 'em punctu^ once a 'Cause the mati that earns the wage is ordered out AnTi^s7''-'"""^fJ^^^"' ''"' ^' ^'"'^ hi::::^ry can H..k l^i"""? ''"'""'"'' '°»«"d to find him! He chucked h,s job and joined it-so the job before us all Duke's iob'' "'^^°'"^^" Tommy's left behind S Uuke s job-cook s job-gardener, baronet, groom EafhTf ■em'^H " °'-.P''P^'-^''°P. "cere's someone gone away! tach of em domg his country's work ^ (and who's to look after the room?) I'ass the hat for your credit's sake, and pay— pay— pay! ^A„"h rfi"^^' '° "l ■ ^V"' ^'^ "" '°°'' him in the face And tell h.m-what he'd very much prefer- AM*K ' "?^ '''.' ^'"P''-^' ''" «">Pl°yer saved his place And h,s mates (that's you and me) liiked out for i^^ 5*4 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE He's an absent-minded beggar and he may forget it all, But we do not want his kiddies to remind him That we sent 'em to the workhouse while their daddy ham- mered Paul, So we'll help the homes that Tommy left behind him: Cook's home — Duke's home — home of a millionaire, (Fifty thousand horse and foot going to Table Bay!) Each of 'em doing his country's work (and what have you got to spare ?) Pass the hat for your credit's sake, and pay — pay — pay! CHANT-PAGAN (English Irregular discharged) \/| E THAT 'ave been what I've been — Me that 'ave gone where I've gone — Me that 'ave seen what I've seen— 'Ow can I ever take on With awfiil old England again. An' 'ouses both sides of the street. And 'edges two sides of the lane. And the parson an' gentry between. An' touchin' my 'at when we meet — Me that 'ave been what I've been? Me that 'ave watched 'arf a world 'Eave up all shiny with dew, Kopje on kop to the sun. An' as soon as the mist let 'em through Our 'elios winkin' like fun — 'Si; INCLUSIVE EDITION. 188S-1918 Three sides of a ninety-mile square. Over valleys as big as a shire— An then the blind drum of our fire An I m rollin' 'is lawns for the Squire, Me! SiS Me that -ave rode through the dark *orty mile, often, on end, A png the Ma'ollisberg Range, With only the stars for my mark An_ only the night for my friend, An_ things runnin' off as you pass, An_ things jumpin" up in the grass. An the silence, the shine an' the size yi the igh, unexpressible skies— i am takin' some letters almost As much as a mile to the post, An mind you come back with the change " ! Me! Me that saw Barberton took When we dropped through the clouds on their 'ead. An they ove the guns over and fled- Me that was through Di'mond '111, An Pieters an' Springs an' Belfast- jTom Dundee to Vereeniging all— Me that stuck out to the last (An five bloomin' bars on my chest)— lamdoin my Sunday-school best, Hy the elp of the Squire an' 'is wife (Wot to mention the 'ousemaid an' cook) Si6 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE To come in an' 'ands up an' be still, An' honestly work for my bread, My livin' in that state of life To which it shall please God to call Me! Me that 'ave followed my trade In the place where the Lightnin's are made, 'Twixt the Rains and the Sun and the Moon- Me that lay down an' got up Three years with the sky for my roof — That 'ave ridden my 'unger an' thirst Six thousand raw mile on the hoof. With the Vaal and the Orange for cup. An' the Brandwater Basin for dish, — Oh! it's 'ard to be'ave as they wish (Too 'ard, an' a little too soon), I'll 'ave to think over it first — Me! I will arise an' get 'ence; — I will trek South and make sure If it's only my fancy or not That the sunshine of England is pale. And the breezes of England are stale, An' there's somethin' gone small with the lot; For / know of a sun an' a wind, An' some plains and a mountain be'ind, An' some graves by a barb-wire fence; An' a Dutchman I've fought 'oo might give Me a job were I ever inclined. To look in an' offsaddle an' live Where there's neither a road nor a tree — But only my Maker an' me. And I think it will kill me or cure, So I think I will go there an' see. Me! INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 5»7 M. I. (Mounted Infantry of the Line) I WISH my mother could see me now, with a fence-post under my arm, An;l a knife and a s|»on In my putties that I found on a Boer (arm, Atop of a sore-backed Argentine, with a thirst that you could n t buy. ' I used to be in the Yorkshires once (Sussex, Lincolns, and Rifles once), Hampshires, Glosters, and Scottish once! (ad Hi.) But now I am M. I. That is what wc are known as-that is the name you must call H you want officers servants, pickets an' orseguards an' all- Uetails for burym -parties, company-co.iks or supply— I urn out the chronic Ikonas! Roll up the ' M. I. ! ^"f '*"^?„""^ 'P°"y ^''h veldt-sores, my shirt is a button an' '^"' '''^ifl''"^' ^'"^ "^'* ""y ''*y'"'« '■"'" """M make a tinker An' I don't know whose dam' column I'm in, nor where we're trekkm nor why. I've trekked from the Vaal to the Orange once— From the Vaal to the greasy Pongolo once— (Or else it was called the Zambesi once)— For new I am M. I. That is what we are known as-we are the push you requ.re l-or outposts all night under frcezin', an' rearguard all day under fire. ' 'Number according to taste and service of audience. 5>8 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Anything "ot or unwholesome? Anything dusty or dry? Borrow a bunch of Ikonas! Trot out the M. I.! Our Sergeant-Major's a subaltern, our Captain's a Fusilier— Our Adjutant's "late of Somebody's 'Orse," an' a Melbourne auctioneer; But you couldn't spot us at 'arf a mile from the crackest caval-ry. They used to talk about Lancers once, Hussars, Dragoons, an' Lancers once, 'Elmets, pistols, an' carbines once. But now we are M. I.! That is what we are known as — we are the orphans they blame For beggin' the loan of an 'ead-stall an' makin" a mount to the same. 'Can't even look at their 'orselines but some one goes bellerin' "Hi! " 'Ere comes a burglin' Ikona!" Footsack you M. I.! We're trekkin' our twenty miles a day an' bein' loved by the Dutch, But we don't hold on by the mane no more, nor lose our stir- rups— much; An' we scout with a senior man in charge where the 'oly white flags fly. We used to think they were friendly once. Didn't take any precautions once (Once, my ducky, an' only once!) But now we are M. I.! That is what we are known as — we are the beggars that got Three days " to learn equitation," an' six months o' bloomin' well trot! Cow-guns, an' cattle, an' convoys— an' Mister De Wet on the fly- We are the rollin' Ikonas! We are the M. I. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 3,9 The new fa_e regiment., come from home. im,ginin' v.in ^'^*" "Tree'.)"" '""'^-''b'"^' ""^ *'''^'> "'"ft-" Number But our words '«■ comm.n.; a e 'Sca-t, , " an" "Close" an' Let your wound;.!!,,..- "^ "" We used to rescue 'er, nJle once - Givin'the range an >■ r.iiscJ -cn'm-e Gettm em killed .- ., ..avtd ern .net - But nvv wt an M. I. Ifter a fi*J!,V "' 7 u"T ' ' "" ^ "^ '''« '»"'""» you view Elpme! O elp me, Ikonas! This way, the— -Cl."!" I wish my^mother could see me now. ..gatherin' new, on my """" VS it """""'^ "^ '" "'"= '^"''' -'' "de back m ., "* We"n,'!.H'/'r''° •'"''■ ■°""'' "^'^l' '° '« the shots go by We used to fancy it risky once ' '' (Called It a reconnaissance once) Under the charge of an orfcer once, But now we are M. I.! I c"uld"?Jir'^"'"!'^ '".I'' *° '"y'^'^"' I ''f' '■" "^ year ago- that e ought to know! =* ■Hor«.hold.rs wh.„ i„ acion, and therefore generally under cover. S30 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE When I think o' that ignorant barrack-bird, it almost makes me cry. I used to belong in an Army once (Gawd! what a rum little Army once), Red little, dead little Army once! But now I am M. I.! That is what we are known as — we are the men that have been Over a year at the business, smelt it an' felt it an' seen. IVe'&ve. got 'old of the needful— j^oa will be told by and by; Wait till you've 'eard the Ikonas, spoke to the old M. I.! Mount— march, Ikonas ! Stand to your 'orses again ! Mop off the frost on the saddles, mop up the miles on the plain. Out go the stars in the dawnin', up goes our dust to the sky, (Talk— trot, Ikonas 1 Trek jou,^ the old M. I. ! COLUMNS {Mobile Columns of the Boer ffar) QUT o' the wilderness, dusty an' dry {Time, an' 'igh time to be trekkin' again !) 'Oo is it 'cads to the Detail Supply? A section, a pompom, an' six 'undred men. 'Ere comes the clerk with 'is lantern an' keys ( Time, an 'igh time to be trekkin' again !) "Surplus of everything — draw what you please "For the section, the pompom, an' six 'undred men.' ' Get ahead. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 "What are our orders an' where do we lay'" (Tme, an' 'igh lime to be Irekkin' again !) You came after dark-you will leave before day You section, you pompom, you six 'undred men !" Down the tin street, 'alf awake an" unfed. Ark to em blessin' the Gen'ral in bed! Now hy the church an' the outspan they wind- Over the ndge an' it's all lef be'ind For the section, etc. Soon they will camp as the dawn's growin' grey, RoU up for coffee an' sleep while they may-- The section, etc. Read their 'ome letters, their papers an' such, tor they 11 move after dark to astonish the Dutch rrtlh a section, etc. "Untin" for shade as the long hours pass- Blankets on rifles or burrows in grass, Lies the section, etc. Dossin' or beatin' a shirt in the sun, Watchmg chameleons or cleanin' a gun, IVaits the section, etc. With nothin' but stillness as far as m)u please An the silly mirage stringin' islands an' seas ' Round the section, etc. So they strips off their hide a,,' th.y grills in their bones, 1. 11 the shadows crawl out from beneath the pore stones Towards the section, etc. S3' 53* RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE An" the Mauser-bird stops an' the jackals begin, An' the 'orse-guard comes up and the Gunners 'ook in As a 'inl to the pompom an' six 'undreJ men. . . . Off through the dark with the stars to rely on — (Alpha Centauri an' ?omethin' Orion) Moves the section^ etc. Same bloomin' 'ole which the ant-bear 'as broke, Same bloomin' stumble an' same bloomin' joke Down the section, etc. Same "which is right?" where the cart-tracks dividr, Same "give it up" from the same clever guide To the section^ etc. Same tumble-down on the same 'idden ff rm. Same white-eyed Kaffir 'oo gives the alarm . Of the section, etc. Same shootin' wild at the end o' the night, Same flyin'-tackle an' same messy fight. By the section, etc. Same ugly 'iccup an' same 'orrid squeal, When it's too dark to see an' it's too late to feel Jn the section, etc. (Same batch of prisoners, 'airy an' still, Watchin' their comrades bolt over the 'ill From the section, etc.) Same chilly glare in the eye of the sun As 'e gets up displeasured to sec what was done By the section, etc INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 Same splash o' pink on the stoep or the kraal An the same quiet face which 'as finished with all m the section, the pompom, an' six 'undred men. Out o' the wilderness, dusty an' dry _ (Time, an' 'igh time to be trekkin' a^ain ') Oo IS It 'eads to the Detail Supply ? A section, a pompom, an' six 'undred men. 533 THE PARTING OF THE COLUMNS rl,'. T ' "i" '*' ~"'. '"'""" " "'""' i'l^'hrninl of Colomals left t„r r,p.lar troop, .n s„rri,on a„dL bulk ojVlon/~'f Jul i vT, '' "" mou cord.al CaruCcr, M, «,„ c^.ni„/eack o,k„ co.lZuX ^ -Any Newspaper, during the South African War. \yE'VE rode and fought and ate and drunk as ration. come to hand, Together for a year and more around this stinkin' land- Now you are gom home again, but we must see it through We needn t tell we hked you well. Good-bye-good luck to You 'ad no special call to come, and so you doubled out. And learned us how to camp and cook an' sreal a hor« and Whatever game *,■ fancied most, you joyful played it too And ra^ther better on the whole GoLd'bye'-gLd lucT'to There isn't much we 'ave n'to. red.since Kruger cut and run The saine^old work, the same old sko

-"• TWO KOPJES (Made Yeomanry towards End of Boer IVar) QNLY two African kopjes. Only the cart-tracks that wind Empty and open between 'em, •Only the Transvaal behind; Only an Aldershot column Marching to conquer the land . Only a sudden and solemn Visit, unarmed, to the Rand. Then scorn not the African kopje, The kopje that smiles in the heat, Ihe wholly unoccupied kopje, The home of Cornelius and Piet. You can never l,e sure of your kopje, But of this be you blooming well sure, A kopje is always a kopje. And a Boojer is always a Boer! S36 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Only two African kopjes, Only the vultures above, Only baboons — at the bottom, Only some buck on the move; Only a Kensington draper Only pretending to scout . . . Only bad news for the paper. Only another knock-out. Then mock not the African kopje. And rub not your flank on its side, The silent and simmering kopje, The kopje beloved by the guide. You can never be, etc. Only two African kopjes, Only the dust of their wheels, Only a bolted commando. Only our guns at their heels . . . Only a little barb-wire. Only a natural fort, Only " by sections retire," Only "regret to report!" Then mock not the African kopje. Especially when it is twins. One sharp and one table-topped kopje For that's where the trouble begins. You never can be, etc Only two African kopjes Baited the same as before — Only we've had it so often, Only we're taking no more INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 Only a wave to our troopers, Only our flanks swinging past. Only a dozen voorloopers,' Only we've learned it at last! Then mock not the African kopje, But take off your hat to the same, The patient, impartial old kopje, The kopje that taught us the game' l-or all that we knew in the Columns, And all they've forgot on the Staff,' f. ^^Tl'' *^ *^^ '^'g'" °' Two Kopjes, Which lasted two years an' a half. O mock not the African kopje. Not even when peace has keen sigwu— The kopje that isn't u kopje— The kopje that copies its kind. you can never be sure of your kojj.. But of this be you blooming well sure That a kopje is always a kopje. And a Boojer is always a Boer! 537 THE INSTRUCTOR (^on-commiaioned Officers of the Line) A'LT'MF.S when umler cover I 'ave said, 1 o keep my spirits up an' raise a laugh, tarin im pass so busy over-'ead— OW. Nickel-Neck, 'oo is n't on the Staff- There s one ahme is greater than us all." Ua.ling horseman of the enemy. 538 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Before 'im I 'ave seen my Colonel fall, An' watched 'im write my Captain's epitaph. So that a long way off it could be read — He 'as the knack o' makin' men feel small — Old Whistle Tip, 'oo is n't on the Staff. There is no sense in fleein' (I 'ave fled), !l; rer go on an' do the belly-crawl, A.i' 'ope 'e 'II 'it some other man instead Ui you 'e seems to 'unt so speshual — Fitzy van Spitz, 'oo is n't on the Staff. An' thus in mem'ry's cinematograph. Now that the show is over, I recall The peevish voice an' 'oary mushroom 'ead Of 'im we owned was greater than us all, 'Oo give instruction to the quick an' the dead- The Shudderin' Beggar — not upon the Staff! BOOTS {Infantry Columns) "^YT^E'RE foot— slog^slog — slog — sloggin' over Africa I Foot — foot — foot — foot — sloggin' over Africa — (Boots — boots — boots — boots — movin' up and down again!) There's no discharge in the war! Seven— six — eleven — five — nine-an'-twenty mile to-day — Four — eleven — seventeen — thirty-two the day before — (Boots — boots — boots — boots — movin' up andd'iwn again!) There's no discharge in the war ! Don't — don't — don't — don't — kxjk at what's in front of you. (Boots — boots — boots — boots — movin' up an' down again); Men — men — men — men^men go mad with watchin' 'em, An' there's no discharge in the war! £iJBik;t{m^"«n'x. '{'i INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 539 Try -try-try-try-to think o' something different - Uh-my-GoU-keep-me from goin' lunatic! (Boots-boots-boots-boots-movin' up an' down again!) Ihere s no discharge in the war! Count-count-count-count-the bullets in the bandoliers, f-your-eyes-drop-they will get atop o' you (Boots-boots-boots-boots-movin' i,p and down again)- 1 here s no discharge in the war! Wo -can-stick-^ut-'unger, thirst, an' weariness, Hut-not-not-not-not the chronic sight of 'em- Hoots-boots-boots-boots-movin- up an' down again, An there s no discharge in the war! Tain't-so-bad-by-day because o' company, Hut-mght-bnngs-long-strings-o' forty thousand mil- Boots-boots-boots-boots-movin' up an' down again. There s no discharge in the war! I-'ave— marched-six-weeks in 'Ell an' certify It-is-not-fire-devils-dark or anything. But boots-boots-boots-boots-movin' up an' down again, An' there's no discharge in the war! THE MARRIF.n M.AN {Reservist uf the Line) 'pHE bachelor 'c fights for one As joyful as can be; But the married man don't call it fun, Because 'e tights fur three— 540 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE I'or 'Im an' 'Er an' It (An' Two an' One make Three) 'E wants to finish 'is little bit, An' 'e wants to go 'ome to 'is tea! The bachelor pokes up 'is 'ead To see if you are gone; But the married man lies down instead, An' waits till the sights come on, For 'Im an' 'Er an' a hit (Direct or ricochee) 'E wants to finish 'is little bit. An' 'e wants to go 'ome to 'is tea. The bachelor will miss you clear To fight another day; But the married man, 'e says "No fear!" 'E wants you out of the way Of 'Im an" 'Er an' It (An' 'is road to 'is farm or the sea), 'E wants to finish 'is little bit. An' 'e wants to go 'ome to 'is tea. The bachelor 'e fights 'is fight .An' stretches out an' snores; But the married man sits up all night — For 'e don't like out-o'-doors. 'E'll strain an' listen an' peer An' give the first alarm — For the sake o' the breathin' 'e's used to 'ear An' the 'ead on the thick of 'is arm. The bachelor may risk 'is 'ide To 'elp you when you're downed; But the married man will wait beside Till the ambulance comes round. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 'E'll take your 'ome address An' all you've time to say, Orif "e sees there's 'ope, 'e'll press lour art'ry "alf the day— Kor 'Im an' 'Er an" It (An' One from Three leaves Two), For 'e knows you wanted to finish y.'.iu hit, An^ e knows 'oo's wantin' you. les, 'Im an' 'Er an' It (Our "oly One in Three), We're all of us anxious to finish our bit. An we want to get 'ome to our tta! Yes, It an' 'Er an' 'Im, Which often makes me think The married man must sink or swim An'— 'e can't aflfcrd to sink! Oh 'Im an' It an' 'Er Since Adam an' Eve began! So I'd rather fight with the bacheUr An' be nursed by the married man! 541 LICHTENBERG (/VfHJ South IVales Contingent) gMELLS .are surer than sounds or sights To make your heart-strings crack — They start those awful voices o' nights That whisper, "Old man, come back!" That must be why the big things pass And the little things remain. Like the smell of the wattle by Lichtenb.rg, Kidmg in, m the rain. \y^^sat MICROCOfY lESOWTION TEST CHART (ANSI and ISO lESI CHART No 2) ^ APPLIED IIVUGE In 542 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE There was some silly fire on the flank And the small wet drizzling down — There were the sold-out shops and the bank And the wet, wide-open town; Jisii we were doing escort-duty To somebody's baggage-train, And I smelt wattle by Lichtenberg — Riding in, in the rain. It was all Australia to me — All I had found or missed: Fvery face I was crazy to see. And every woman I'd kissed: All that I should n't ha' done, God knows! (As He knows I'll do it again). That smell of the wattle round Litchtenberg, Riding in, in the rain! And I saw Sydney the same as ever. The picnics and brass-bands; And my little homestead on Hunter River And my new vines joining hands. It all came over me in one act Quick as a shot through the brain— With the smell of the wattle round Lichtenberg, Riding in, in the rain. I have forgotten a hundred fights, Cut one I shall not forget — \Vith the raindrops bunging up my sights And my eyes bunged up with wet; And through the crack and the stink of the cordite (.Ah Christ! My country again!) The smell of the wattle by Lichtenberg, Riding in, in the rain! INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 543 STEI.LENBOSH {Composite Columns) ^HE (Jeneral 'card the firin' on the flank, ■ru ;}"' '^ f "' ^ ""'""ted man to bring 'im hack 1 he silly, pushin person's name an' rank Ood dared to answer Brother Boer's attack- tor there might 'ave been a serious engag.ment, An e might ave wasted 'alf a dozen men; An- ZZf'-'"" ?u"?P ''\°P^™"°"s ^und the kopjes. An e told im off before the Stafi^ at ten! And it all goes into the laundry, But it never comes out in the wash, Ow we're sugared about by the old men ( tavy-sterned amateur old men!) That 'amper an' 'inder an' scold men For fear o' Stellenbosh! '^'if general 'ad "produced a great effect," The GeneraPad the country cleared— almost; 1 he tieneral ad no reason to expect," And the Boers 'ad u- bloomin' well on toast i tor we might 'ave crossed the drift before the twiliyht Instead o sitting down an' takin' roof ' ' But we was not allowed, so the Boojers scooped the crowd, lo the last survivin bandolier an' boot. The General saw the farm'ouse in 'is rear. With its stoep so nicely shaded from the sun- sez e,^ I II pitch my tabernacle 'ere," An' 'e kept us muckin' round till 'e 'ad done. 544 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE hot 'e might 'ave caught the confluent pneumonia From sleepin' in his gaiters in the dew; So 'e took a book an' dozed while the other columns closed And De Wet's commando out an' trickled through ! The General saw the mountain-range ahead, With their 'elios showin' saucy on the '"jight, So 'e 'eld us to the level ground instead, An' telegraphed the Boojers would n't fight. For 'e might 'ave gone an' sprayed 'em with a pompom. Or 'e might 'ave slung a squadron out to see — But 'e was n't takin" chances in them 'igh ap' 'cstile kranzes — He was markin' time to earn a K. C. B The General got 'is decorations thick (The men that backed 'is lies could not complain), The Stafl^ 'ad D. S. O.'s till we was sick, An' the soldier — 'ad the work to do again! For 'e might 'ave known the District was an 'otbed, Instead of 'andin' over, upside-down, To a man 'oo 'ad to fight 'alf a year to put it right. While the General went an' slandered 'im in town! An' it all went into the laundry. But it never came out in the wash. We were sugared about by the old men (Panicky, perishin' old men) That 'amper an' 'inder an' scold men For fear o' Stellenbosh I HALF-BALLAD OF WATERVAL (.Non-commissioned Oncers in Charge of Prisoners) '\\/'HEN by the labour of my 'ands I've 'elped to pack a transport tight With prisoners for foreign lands, INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 I ain't transported with delight. 1 know it's only just an' right. But yet it somehow sickens'me, I'or 1 ave learned at Waterval The meanin' of captivity. 54? Be ind the pegged barb-wire strantis, Beneath the tall electric light, /A";' used to walk in bare-'ead bands, txplainin' 'ow we lost our fight; An' that is what they'll do to-ni'ght Upon the steamer out at sea. If I 'ave learned at Waterval The meanin' of captivity. They //never know the shame that brands- Black shame no livin' down makes white— 1 he mockm' from the sentry-stands. The women's lai. ' , the gaoler's spite. fye are too bloc .'-much polite, But that is 'ow I'd 'ave us be . Since I 'ave learned at Waterval The meanin' of captivity. They 11 get those dr.iggin' days all right, Spent as a foreigner commiinds, hn errors of the locked-up night, With 'Ell's own thinkin' on their 'ands. I d give the gold o' twenty Rands (If it was mine) to set 'em free For I 'ave learned at Waterval The meanin' of captivity! S46 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE PIET {Regular of the Line) J DO not love my Empire's foes, Nor call 'em angels; still, What is the sense of 'atin' those 'Oom you are paid to kill ? So, barrin' all that foreign lot Which only joined for spite. Myself, I'd just as soon as not Respect the man I fight. Ah there, Piet! — 'is trousies to 'is knees, 'U coat-tails lyin' level in the bullet-sprinkled breeze; E does not lose 'is rifle an' 'e does not lose 'is seat, I've known a lot o' people ride a dam' sight worse than Piet. I've 'eard 'im cryin' from the ground Like Abel's blood of old, An' skirmished out to look, an' found The beggar nearly cold. I've waited on till 'e W!is dea'i (Which couldn't 'elp 'im much), But many grateful things 'e 's said To me for doin' such. Ah there, Piet! whose time 'as come to die, 'Is carcase past rebellion, but 'is eyes inquirin' why. Though dressed in stolen uniform with badge o' rank complete, I've known a lot o' fellers go a dam' sight worse than Piet. An' when there was n't aught to do But camp and cattle-guards, I've fought with 'im the 'ole day through At fifteen 'undred yards; INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 S47 Long afternoons o' lyin' still, An' 'earin' as you lay The bullets swish from ''ill to 'ill Like scythes amoni,' the "av. ■^.^- there, Fietl-bemil 'is stonv kop. ''' Dopf "■ ■"■""' ""■ '''"""e-' ••'"■ "'' «'-'^k of a«;,| •Is Mauser for amusement an' 'is pony for retren- "thrPiet.'" °' ''"''' ''""' ^ ''-■ ^'^h — He's shoved 'is rifle 'neath my nose Before I d time to think, An' borrowed all my Sunday clo'es An sent me 'ome in pink; An I -ave crept (Lord, 'ow I've crept') On ands an' knees I've gone And spoored and floored and caught and kept An sent him to Ceylon! ^ Ah there, Pietl-you've sold me many a pup When week on week alternate it was y'ou'an^me "'ands But tjwugh I never made ^.« walk man-naked in the I've km,wn a lot of fellows stalk a dam' sight worse than From Plewman's to Marabastad, From Ookiep to De Aar, Me an' my trusty friend 'ave 'ad, As you might say, a war; But seein' what both parties done Before e owned defeat, »'""t more proud of 'avin' won. Than I am pleased with Piet. ' Dried meat. ' Cape brandy. i i? » 1 ., ^ J ' ''Ml 54" RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Ah tht-rc, PictI— pitkcil up bc'ind thi; drive! The wonder wasn't 'ow 'e fought, but 'ow 'e kep' alive, y.'ith nothin' in 'is belly, on 'is back, or to 'is feet— I've known a lot o' men behave a dam' sight worse than Piet. No more I'll 'car 'is rifle crack Along the block'ouse fence— The beggar's on the peaceful tack. Regardless of expense; For countin' what 'e eats an' draws. An' gifts an' loans as well, 'E's gettin' 'alf the Earth, because 'E didn't give us 'Ell! Ah there, Piet! with your brand-new English plough. Your gratis tents an' cattle, an' your most ungrateful frow. You've made the British taxpayer rebuild your country. seat — I've known some pet battalions charge a dam' sieht less than Piet. ^ "WILFUL-MISSING" {Deserters) 'pHERE is ,1 world outside the one you know. To which for curiousness 'Ell can't compare- It is the place where "wilful-missings" go. As we can testify, for we are there. You may 'avc read a bullet laid us low. That we was gathered in "with reverent care" And buried proper. But it w s not so. As we can testify, — for we .re there! INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 They can't bu c.rtain-faccs alter so Tk ''% '"' I's^og'^'' 's ■«'! 'is share. I he umform s the mark bv which they gn- And-a,n t ,t odd?-the one we best can spare. We might -ave seen our chance to cut the show- -Name, number, record, an' begin elsewhere- Leavm some net too late-lamented foe One funeral-private-British-for 'is share. We may 'ave took it yonder in the Low Bush-veldt that sends men stragglin' unaware Among the Kaffirs, till their columns po. An they are left past call or count or care. We might 'ave been your lovers long ago, Usbands or children-comfort or defp;ir. Our death (a«' burial) settles all we owe, An why we done it is our own affair. Marry again, and we will not say no Nor come to barstardise the kids you bear Wait on m ope-you've all your life below Before you 11 ever 'ear us on the stair. There is no need to give our reasons, though But other people might not judge 'em so- And now it doesn't matter what they were. What man can weigh or size another's woe? Ihere are some things too bitter 'ard to bear Suffice It we ave finished— Domino' As we can testify, for we are there In the side-world where "wilful-missi'ngs" go. ' Vulture. >V) SSO RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE UBIOUE {Royal Artillery) 'pHERE is a word you often see. pronounce it as you may — ' ■•You bike," "you bykwee," "ubbikwe"— alludin' to R. A. It serves Orsc, Field, an' Garrison as motto for a crest An when you've found out all it means I'll tell you 'alf the rest. Lbique means the long-range Krupp be'ind the low-range Ubique means you'll pick it up an', while vou do, stand still. Ubique means you've caught the flash an' timed it by the soun:]. ' Ubique means five gunners' 'ash befo.e you've loosed a round. Ubique means Blue Fuse,' an' make the 'ole to sink the trail. Ubique means stand up an' take the Mauser's 'alf-mile 'ail Ubique means the crazy team not God nor man can 'old Ubique means that 'orse's scream which turns your innards cold! Ubique means "Bank, 'Olborn, Bank— a penny all the way — The soothin', jingle-bump-an'-clank from day to peaceful day. Ubique means "They've caught De Wet, an' now we sha'n't be long. ' Ubique means "I much regret, the beggar's goin' strong!" ' Extreme range INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885 1918 -5, I l.ique .T,cans "Kntrain at o,kv (or (;r„„r>k-f.„,on, ■■„-' I I.Klue means th. R. A. M. R. Infantill.ry Corps! fl-iq.^,.^. .,,a. warni,,' grunt the perish., lines.an WVn „^r 'is strung an' sufferin' front the shrapnel spravs 'is THE RETURN PEACE is declared, an' I return To Ackneystadt, but not the same- Thwp ave transpired which made me learn the size and meanin' of the game. S$i RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE I dill no mori; than others ilid, I don't know where the change began. I started as a average kid, ' finished as a thinkin' man. 1/ England xvus viluU England seems, An not the Engltind nf our dreams. But only piilly, brass, an' paint, 'Ow quick we'd drop 'er .' But she ain't! Before my gappin' mouth coiiKl speak 1 'card it in my comrade's tone; I saw it on my neighliour's cheek Before I felt it flush my own. An' last it come to me— not pride. Nor yet conceit, but on the 'ole (If such a term may be apphed), The makin's of a bloomin' .soul. Rivers at night that cluck an' jeer. Plains whi"h the moonshine turns to sea, Mountains which never let you near. An' stars to all eternity; An" the quick-breathin' dark that fills The 'ollows of the wilderness. When the wind worries through the 'ilLs — These may 'ave taught me more or less. Towns without people, ten times took, .An' ten times left an' burned at last; An' starvin' dogs that come to look For owners when a column passed; An' quiet, 'i.mesick talks between Men, mi t by night, you never knew Until — 'is lace — by shellfiie seen — Once— an' struck ofl^. T/uy taught me too. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 The day's lay-out-thc mcrnin' sun Hcmath your 'at-brim as y„u siifht; 1 hf ainntr- ush from .on till one. An' the full roar that lasts till niuhf An the port dead that lll I met with a maid on the Brookland Road That turned me back to school. ' Low down— low down > mere the liddle green lanterns shine- O ma.ds, I ve done with 'ee all but one /tnd she can never be mine 1 S'thunH " t"' ™i'''^"' °^» hot June night, vvith thunder duntm' round ThiV'"'''.''"" '"'"^'^ ^y '"^ f^'^y light That beats from off the ground. She only smiled and she never spoke, ihe smiled and went away But when she'd gone my h^art was broke And my wits was clean astray. 56o RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE O, stop your ringing and let me be — Let be, O Brookland bells! You'll ring Old Goodman' out of the .ea. Before I wed one else ! Old Goodman's Farm is rank sea-sand, And was this thousand year; But it shall turn to rich plough-land Before I change my dear. O, Fairfield Church is water-bound From autumn to the spring; But it shall turn to high hill-ground Before my bells do ring. O, leave me walk on Brookland Road, In the thunder and warm rain — O, leave me look where my love goed. And p'raps I'll see her again! Low down — low down ! Where the liddle green lanterns shine — 0 maids f Vve done with *ee all hut one^ And she can never be mine ! THE SACK OF THE GODS Jiiii CTRANGERS drawn from the ends of the earth, jewelled and plumed were we; I was Lord of the Inca race, and she was Queen of the Sea. Under the stars beyond our stars where the new-forged mete- ors glow. Hotly we stormed Valhalla, a million years ago! * £.irl Godwin of the Goodwin Sands? INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 ,,, ^ ,^ we .;:r::rLi7j:'r::f'"' '"-" -^ -^- ^-g'^' -^i '" anTr °''^ we tossed aside, and scattered then, to The n,ght that we stormed Valhalla, a million years ago! sleep. ■^^ "2^ ^""' ""'^ 'I'^y lie down and world ha7"e/j " ^"rslnppers; they sleep till the She with the^,., , Had marked Tot my own-, with my sec Lost m^thHoom of the Night of Nights-lighted by worlds Met .n^a^war against the Gods where the headlong meteors Hewing our way to Valhalla, a million years ago! ney .llleo,ne ...,-.„.. ,,,, ,^,,,^ ^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^ 561 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE THE KINGDOM ^OW we are come to our Kingdom, And the State is thus and thus; Our legions wait at the Palace gate — Little it profits us. Now we are come to our Kingdom ! Now we are come to our Kingdom, And the Crown is ours to take — With a naked sword at the Council board, And under the throne the snake. Now we are come to our Kingdom ! Now we are come to our Kingdom, And the Realm is ours by right, With shame and fear for our daily cheer, And heaviness at night. Now we are come to our Kingdom ! Now we are come to our Kingdom, But my love's eyelids fall. All that I wrought for, all that I fought for, Delight her nothing at all. My crown is of withered leaves, For she sits in the dust and grieves. Now we are come to our Kingdom ! TARRANT MOSS T CLOSED and drew for my love's sake That now is false to me, And I slew the Reiver of Tarrant Moss And set Dumeny free. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 563 They have gone down, they have gone down. They are standing all arow— ' Twenty knights in the peat-water, Ihat never struck a blow! Their armour shall not dull nor rust, 1 heir flesh shall not decay, For Tarrant Moss holds them in trust. Until the Judgment Day. Their soul went from them in their youth. Ah bod, that mine had gone, Whenas I leaned on my love's truth And not on my sword alone! Whenas I leaned on lad's belief And not on my naked blade— And I slew a thief, and an honest thief, tor the sake of a worthless maid. They have laid the Reiver low in his place, Ihey have set me up on high. But the twenty knights in the peat-water Areluckier than I! And ever they give me gold and praise And ever I mourn my loss— For I struck the blow for my false love's sake And not for the Men of the Moss! i 564 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE SIR RICHARDS SONG (a. d. 1066) J FOLLOWED my Duke ere I was a lover, To take from England fief and fee; But now this game is the other way over — But now England hath taken me! I had my horse, my shield and banner, And a boy's heart, so whole and free; But now I sing in another manner — But now England hath taken mel As for my Father in his tower. Asking news of my ship at sea. He will remember his own hour — Tell him England hath taken mc! As for my Mother in her bower, That rules my Father so cunningly. She will remember a maiden's power — Tell her England hath taken me! As for my Brother in Rouen City, A nimble and naughty page is he. But he will come to suffer and pity — Tell him England hath taken mci As for my little Sister waiting In the pleasant orchards of Normandie, Tell her youth is the time for mating — Tell her England hath taken me! INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 ^TZr/ZT""^" '" "-"P ""J highway, tJ\X ^^' t^'" 'y^*"""*' scornfully. ^' Tell hem their way is not my way- Tell them England hath taken me! Kings and Princes and Barons famed, Knights and Captains in your degree- Hear me a little before I am blamtd- ' Sweing England hath taken me! Howso great man's strength be reckoned, There are two thmgs he cannot flee ZIV "!•■ "",'' '^^""^ '" 'he second- And Love in England hath taken me! 56s A TREE SONG (a. d. 1 200) ^^ ^kh 'J"^ r"' *''« Srov so fair. Old England to adorn, Greater are none beneath the Sun, Than Oak, and Ash, and Thorn. rAi?'f ■ "mJ"'^' ""'' '^^°'"' g°«i »i". (All of a Midsummer morn ') Purely we sing no little thing, InOak, and Ash, and Thorn! Oak of the Clay lived many a day Or ever /Eneas began Ash of the Loam was a lady at home. When Brut was an outlaw man. Thorn of the Down saw New Trov Town (1-rom which was Ixjndon born); Witness hereby the ancientry Of Oak, and Ash, and Thorn' $66 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Yew that is old in dm r^h yard- mould, He breederh a mighty 1><)W. AKler for shoes do wise nu'ii thoose, And beech for cups also. But when ye have killed, and your bowl is spilled, And your shoes are tlvan outworn. Back ye must speed for all that ye need, To Oak, and Ash, an.l Thorn! Ellum she hateth mankind, and waiteth Till every gust be laid. To drop a limb on the head of him That anyway trusts her shade: But whether a lad be sober or sad. Or mellow with ale from the horn. He will take no wrong when he lieth along 'Neath Oak, and Ash, and Thorn! Oh, do not tell the Priest our plight, Or he would call it a sin; But — we have been out in the woods all night, A-conjuring Summer in! And we bring you news by word of mouth — Good news for cattle and corn — Now is the Sun come up from the South, With Oak, and Ash, and Thorn! Sing Oak, and Ash, and Thorn, good sirs (All of a Midsummer morn) I England shall bide till Judgment Tide, By Oak, and Ash, and Thorn! INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 567 THE FLa)r>S 'pHE rain it rains without a stay In the hills above us, in the hills; And presently the floods break way Whose strength is in the hills. The trees they suck from every cloud, 1 he valley brooks they roar aloud— Bank-high for the lowlands, lowlands Lowlands under the hi Is' The first wood down is sere and small From the hills-the brishings off the hills: And then come by the bats and all We cut last year in the hills; And then the roots we tried to cleave But found too tough and hud to leave— Poking through the lowlands, lowlands. Lowlands under the hills! The eye shall look, the ear shall hark To the hills, the doings in the hills, And rivers mating in the dark With tokens from the hillo. Now what is weak will surely go, And what is strong must prove it sc— Stand fast in the lowlands, lowlands, Lowlands under the hills! The floods they shall not be afraid— Nor the hills above 'jm, nor the hills— Oi any fence which man has made Betwixt him and the hills. I'iiil lilll S68 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE The waters shall not reckon twice For any work of man's device, But bid it down to the lowlands, lowlands. Lowlands under the hills! The floods shall sweep corruption clean — By the hills, the blessing of the hills— That more the meadows may be green New-mended from the hills. The crops and cattle shall increase, Nor little childern shall not cease. Go — plough the lowlands, lowlands, Lowlands under the hills! CUCKOO SONG (Spring begins in Southern England on (he 14th April, on which date the Old Woman lets the Cuckoo out of her basket at Heathfield Fair^locally known as Heffle Cuckoo Fair.) TpELL it to the locked-up trees, Cuckoo, bring your song here ! Warrant, Act and Summons, please, For Spring to pass along here! Tell old Winter, if he doubt. Tell him squat and square — a! Old Woman! Old Woman! Old Woman's let the Cuckoo out At Heffle Cuckoo Fair — a' March has searched and April tried — 'Tisn't long to May now. Not so far to Whitsuntide And Cuckoo's come to stay now! ii<: INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 Hear the valiant fellow shout Down the orchard bare— a i Old Woman! Old Woman! J^t Hetfle Cuckoo Fair — a! When your heart is young and gay And the season rules it— Work your works and play your play fore the Autumn cools it! Kiss you turn and turn-about But my lad, beware— a! ' Old Woman! Old Woman! Al'^H^rr'','"*M^"^''°°°"f nt Metfle Cuckoo Fair— a! 569 A CHARM I'AKE of English earth as much Tn .k T " r*"f ""^y '■■g''''y clutch. in the takmg of It breathe Prayer for all who lie beneath. Not the great nor well-bespoke, But the mere uncounted folk Of whose life and death is none Report or lamentation. Lay that earth upon thy heart. And thy .'ickness shall depart!* It shall sweeten and make whole i-evered breath and festered soul. It shall mightily restrain Over-busied hand and brain. 570 RUDYARD KIPLING'S \'ERSE It shall ease t'.y mortal strife 'Gainst the immortal woe of life, Till thyself, restored, shall prove By what grace the Heavens do move. Take of English flowers these — Spring's full-faced primroses, Summer's wild. wide-hearted rose. Autumn's wall-flower of the close, i.id, thy darkness to illume, Winter's bee-thronged ivy-bloom. Seek and serve them where they bide From Candlemas to Christmas-tide, For these simples, used aright. Can restore a failing sight. • These shall cleanse and purify Webbed and inward-turning eye; These shall show thee treasure hid. Thy familiar fields amid; And reveal (which is thy need) Every man a King indeed! THE PRAIRIE T SEE the grass shake in the sun for leagues on either hand, I see a river loop and run about a treeless land — An empty plain, a steely pond, a distance diamond-clear. And low blue naked hills beyond. .And what is that to fear? " "Go softly by that river-side or, when you would depart. You'll find its every winding tied and knotted round your heart. Be wary as the seasons pass, or you may ne'er outrun The wind that sets that yellowed grass a-shiver 'neath the Sun." '.iKWrira I INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 57, "^ '""whtt""""" ''°™ -tblown-the drip of the grateful I hear tte l"'^ "-"i'/^'^Phone a far-off horse's feet. 1 hear the horns of Autumn blow to the wild-fowl overhead- /"Jr '""''' "^'"'^ "^^ ^"°*- And what is that to '''"^'^'cSha"^''''=''^'''"'"^*"---''-^'>-the Or bound among a million sheaves, your soul shall not escape Bar home^he door of summer nighL lest those high ;Sts The memory of near delights in all the longed-for town." iZwthfuf ^',Io' ' '° 1^"^.°' ^'"- ^°"> ^"^"'I'y. I behold '"' td^is^/rr^"''''^ «~ breasTsirS JOBSON'S AMEN "gLES; J be the English and all their ways and works Cursed be the Infidels. Hereticks, and Turks'" Amen, quo Jobson, "but where I used to lie Was neither Candle, Bell nor Book to curse my brethren by: Tr^suff 'rtr? '" ^"" ^''""^' ''°"'"S down, bowing down. Conches n=. I °r ""f?"'"S .« '^' brown, walled town- ^onches m a temple, oil-lamps in a dome— And a low moon out of Africa said: 'This way home'"' 572 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE " Blessed he the English and all that they profess. Cursed be the Savages that prance in nakedness!" "Amen," quo" Jobson, "but where I used to lie Was neither shirt nor pantaloons to catch my brethren bv " But a well-wheel slowly creaking, going round, going round, By a water-channel leaking over drowned, warm ground — Parrots very busy in the trellised pepper-vine — And a high sun over Asia shouting: 'Rise and shine!' " " BlessM be the English and everything they own. CursM be the Infidels that bow to wood and stone! " "Amen," quo' Jobson, "but where I used to lie Was neither pew nor Gospelleer to save my brethren by: "But a desert stretched and stricken, left and right, left and right. Where the piled mirages thicken under white-hot light — A skull beneath a sand-hill and a viper coiled inside — And a red wind out of Libya roaring: 'Run and hide!'" " Blessed be the English and all they make or do. Cursed be the Hereticks who doubt that this is tme!" "Amen," quo' Jobson, "but where I mean to die Is neither rule nor calliper to judge the matter by: "But Himalaya heavenward-heading, sheer and vast, sheer and vast. In a million summits bedding on the last world's past — A certain sacred mountain where the scented cedars climb, And — the feet of my Beloved hurrying back through Time!" ^B^i INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 573 CHAPTER HEADINGS PLAIN TALES FROM THE HILLS LOOK, you have cast out Love lou bid me please? The Three in Jne, the One in Three' lomy own Godslgo. It m:, . be they shall give me greater ease Than your cold Christ and tangled Trinities. What Gods are these Not so! AndV^" ''?'' ""•' ^'^'^ ""'' '^' -^"^i" were grev Tk ^ T^°.'^' *^'''= ™">--J w.th rain, ^ ^' To^.^rh'ist:;;^-!'-^'' ''>--"- day His love she neither saw nor heard, ■f' ""vy was her shame; And tho' the babe within her stirred i>he knew nor that he came Lispeth. The Other Man. Cry "Murder" in the market-place and each \sk nr".r\''" "['Shbour a'nxious eye " Askmg: Art thou the man?" VVe hunted Cain Some centunes ago across the world Th,s bred the fear our own misdeeds maintain His Weddtil IFi/e. ^o stalk the red deer o'er the heather R.de, follow the fox if you can! ' But, for pleasure and profit together, 574 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Allow me the hunting of Man — The chase of the Human, the search for the Soul To its ruin — the hunting of Man. P'g- "Stopped in the straight when the race was his own Look at him cutting it — cur to the bone!" Ask ere the youngster be rated and chidden What did he carry and how was he ridden? Maybe they used him too much at the start. Maybe Fate's weight-cloths are breaking his heart. Ill the Pride of his Youth. "And some are sulky, while some will plunge. {So ho ! Steady ! Stand still, you .') Some you must gentle, and some you must lunge. ( There ! There ! fVho wants to kill you ?) Some — there are losses in every trade — Will break their hearts ere bitted and made, Will fight like fiends as the rope cuts hard. And die dumb-mad in the breaking-yard." Thrown Away. The World hath set its heavy yoke Upon the old white-bearded folk Who strive to please the King. God's mercy is upon the young, God's wisdom in the baby tongue That fears not anything. Tod's Amendment. Not though you die to-night, O Sweet, and wail, A spectre at my door. Shall mortal Fear make Love immortal fail— I shall but love you more. Who, from Death's House returning, give me still One moment's comfort in my matchless ill. By Word of Mouth. n INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 575 They burnt a corpse upon the sand- Ine light shone out afar; It guided home the plunging dhows Ihat beat from Zanzibar. Spirit of Fire, where'er Thy altars rise, Thou art the Light of Guidance toour eyes! In Error. Ride with an idle whip, ride with an unused heel. Hut, once ,n a way, there will come a day When the colt must be taught to feel ' 'theta sTel'"^ ^"^^ '""' ^'"'^> -'* '"^ --"« °^ The Conversion 0/ /fure/ian McGoggin. It was not in the open fight We threw away the sword, But in the lonely watching In the darkness by the ford. The waters lapped, the night-wind blew, frull-armed the Fear was born and grew And we were flying ere we knew {•rem panic in the night. TAe Rout of the IVhite Hussars. In the daytime, when she moved about me n the night when she was sleeping at my side,- I was weaned, I was wearied of her presence. Uould God that she or I had died! The Bronckhorst Divorce Case. A stone's throw out on either hand ^rom that well-ordered road we tread. And all the world is wild and strange; (-hurl and ghoul and Djinn and sprite S7< RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Shall bear us company to-night, For we have reached the Oldest Land Wherein the powers of Darkness range. In the House of Suddhoa. To-night, God knows what thing shall tide, The Earth is racked and fain — Expectant, sleepless, open-eyed; And we, who from the Earth were made, Thrill with our Mother's pain. False Dawn. Pit where the buffalo cooled his hide. By the hot sun emptied, and blistered and dried; Log in the plume-grass, hidden and lone; Bund where tlie earth-rat's mounds are strown; Cave in the bank where the sly stream steals; Aloe that stabs at the belly and heels. Jump if you dare on a steed untried — Safer it is to go wide — go wide! Hark, from in front where the best men ride; — "Pull to the off, boys ! PVide ! Go wide ! " Cupid's Arrows. He drank strong waters and his speech was coarse; He purchased raiment and forbore to pay; He stuck a trusting junior with a horse, And won gymkhanas in a doubtful way. Then, 'twixt a vice and folly, turned aside To do good deeds and straight to cloak them, lied. A Bank Fraud. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 577 COLD IRON But Iron-Cold Iron-,s master of them all." So he made rebellion 'eain-it thn k';^ l- r ''7^- "^^ ^'«Ser:ntsi^ned"i?:; .ege "R^i said the cannoneer on the castle wall But Iron-Cold Iron-shall be master of ^o! 'all!" Whe/Th"" ^t'"" ""'' •>'' ''"'g''« » «rong. He was taken prisoner, he was cast in thrall And Iron-Cold Iron-was master of it alM ■mat if i^ef'"'''' .^'"'"y ^''''' ''°* kind a Lord!) ■•Na;^'aid1heVarrn "-::".' «'^^ ""=^ ''-'' '^y sword?' p T i-T . "^ron. mock not at mv fall For Iron-Cold Iron-is master of men dl." ' p^c^o^c^-^rs^:?::^;,,,. SiSadtdTe^sfe^'^^'? •^■T '•'-^ ''^'> Hrwtn"^' c" Id r ^ ^ ^-'i^ie^^hi, sTSot;\r- How Iron-Cold Iron-can be master of men all!'' He ^ook^^J. Wine and blessed it. He blessed and brake the With His^own Hands He ser.ed Them, and presently He 578 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE "See! These Hands they pierced with nails, outside My city wall, Show Iron— Cold Iron— to be master of men all: "Wounds are for the desperate, blows are for the strong. Balm and oil for weary hearts all cut and bruised with wrong. I forgive thy treason— I redeem thy fall — For Iron — Cold Iron — must be master of men all!" "Crowns art for the oalianl — sceptres for the hold ! Thrones and powers for mighty men who dare to take and hold." "Nay!" said the Baron, kneeling in his hall, "But Iron — Cold Iron — is master of men all! Iron out of Calvary is master of men all!" A SONG OF KABIR QH, LIGHT was the world that he weighed in his hands! Oh, heavy the tale of his fiefs and his lands! He has gone from the guddee and put on the shroud, And departed in guise o( iairagi^ avowed! Now the white road to Delhi is mat for his feet. The sai and the kikar' must guard him from heat. His home is the camp, and the waste, and the crowd — He is seeking the Way as iairagi avowed! He has looked upon Man, and his eyeballs are clear — (There was One; there is One, and but One, saith Kabir); The Red Mist of Doing has thinned to a cloud — He has taken the Path for iairagi avowed! To learn and discern of his brother the clod, Of his brother the brute, and his brother the God, He has gone from the council and put on the shroud ("Can ye hear?" saith Kabir), a iairagi avowed! ' Wandering holy nun. ' Wayside trees. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 A CAROL O'JR Lord Who did the Ox command lo kneel tojudah's King, He bmds His frost upon the land lo ripen it for Spring- To npen it for Spring, good sirs, According to His Word. Which well must be as ye can see- And who shall judge the Lord? When we poor fenmen skate the ice Ur shiver on the wold, xl"l''" "y "'■ a single tree Ihat breaks her heart in the cold- That breaks her heart in the cold, good • And rendeth by the board. Which well must be as ye can see- And who shall judge the Lord? Her wood is crazed and little worth txcepting as to burn, uLT^JT"^' *''™ ""'* '""''^ °"' '"irth until the Spring return— wi ^^^^P""S --^fufn, good sirs, u;^ L " S^""'*"^ *»'k abroad; Which well must be as ye can see- And who shall judge the Lord? GcKi bless the master of this house. Andall who sleep therein! And guard the fens from pirate folk. And keep us all from sin, 579 w S8o RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE To walk in honesty, good sirs, Of thought and deed and word I Which shall befriend our latter end. . , And who shall judge the LordP "i; "MY NEW-CUT ASHLAR" J^y NEW-CUT ashlar takes the light Where crimson-blank the windows flare. By my own work before the night, Great Overseer, I make my prayer. If there be good in that I wrought Thy Hand compelled it. Master, Thine — W'here I have failed to meet Thy Thought I know, through Thee, the blame was mine. The depth and dream of my desire, The bitter paths wherein I siray - Thou knowest Who hast made the Fire, Thou knowest Who hast made the Clay. Who, lest all thought of Eden fade, Bring'st Eden to the craftsman's brain — Godlike to muse o'er his own Trade And manlike stand with God again! One stone the more swings into place In that dread Temple of Thy worth. It is enough that, through Thy Grace, I saw nought common on Thy Earth. Take not that vision from my ken — Oh whatsoe'er may spoil or speed. Help me to need no aid from men That I may help such men as need! INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 EDDI'S SERVICE (a. d. 687) Enni, priest of St. Wilfrid In his chapel at Manhcxxl EnJ, Unlered a midnight service For such as cared to attend. But the Saxons were keeping Christmas, And the night was stormy as well Nobody came to service, Though Eddi rang the bell. "'Wicked weather for walking," Said Eddi of Manhood End.' But I must go on with the service For such as cnrr to attend." The altar-lamps were lighted,— An old marsh-donkey came, Bold as a guest invited. And stared at the guttering flame. The storm beat on at the windows. The water splashed on the floor. And a wet, yoke-weary bullock Pushed in through the open door. "How do I know what is greatest. How do I know what is least' That IS My Father's business," Said Eddi, Wilfrid's priest. 581 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE "But— three are gathered together — Listen to me and attend. I bring good news, my brethren!" Said Eddi of Manhood End. And he told the Ox of a Manger And a Stall in Bethlehem, And he spoke to the Ass of a Rider, That rode to Jerusalem. They steamed and dripped in the chancel, They listened and never stirred. While, just as though they were Bishops, Eddi preached them The Word, Till the gale blew off on the marshes And the windows showed the day. And the Ox and the Ass together Wheeled and clattered away. And when the Saxons mocked him, Said Eddi of Manhood End, "I dare not shut His chapel On such as care to attend." THE LEGEND OF MIRTH 'J'HE Four Archangels, so the legends tell, Raphael, Gabriel, Michael, Azrael, Being first of those to whom the Power was shown, Stood first of all the Host before The Throne, And, when the Charges were allotted, burst Tumultuous-winged from out the assembly first. Zeal was their spur that bade them -.trictly heed Their own high judgment on their lightest deed. INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 i^l wa. t^: 5pu, ,hat, when relief was given. Lr ,cJ the-T, , „w, aned to new toils in Heaven- H.. Honour sake peHecting every task "' aJ/1u l .„! ^" *^^*"ion's self could ask And Allah, Who created Zeal and Pride ' Knows how the twain are perilous-near 'allied. S83 ThfSnS :rthe "rb ' '""'-'''i'' '^y^- Each to his Cha ge ,he shinrn:iV^°"' "' "">" Save for one Sera^ph l;''rfh^°;;rpW:f fvV'^^5'"'"H'^='vensoonEarth Systems and Universes overpast, The Seraph came upon the Four, at last Gu dmg and guarding with devo;ed mind The tedious generations of mankind Who lent at most unwilling ear and eye When they could not escape the ministry Tow/H^ir'/"'"^^"''"™'?--^- ?st • • Toward all that gross, indifferent, fac le dlst The Archangels laboured to discharge their ™st By precept and example, prayer and law ' Each,,; hiff'i'f' '".' ™'^' ''"'> '^-bo-ing saw Each in h,s fellows' countenance confessed The Doubt that sickens: "Have I done my best'" S84 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Even as they sigKed and turned to toil anew. The Seraph hailed them with observance due; And, after some fit talk of higher things, Touched tentative on mundane happenings. This they permitting, he, emboldened thus, Prolused of humankind promiscuous, And, since the large contention less avails Than instances observed, he told them tales — Tales of the shop, the bed, the court, the street. Intimate, elemental, indiscreet: Occasions where Confusion smiting swift Piles jest on jest as snow-slides pile the drift Whence, one by one, beneath derisive skies, The victims' bare, bewildered heads arise — Tales of the passing of the spirit, graced With humour blinding as the doom it faced — Stark tales of ribaldy that broke aside To tears, by laughter swallowed ere they dried — Tales to which neither grace nor gain accrue. But only (Allan be exalted!) true. And only, as the Seraph showed that night. Delighting to the limits of delight. These he rehearsed with artful pause and halt. And such pretence of memory at fault. That soon the Four — so well the bait wrs thrown- Came to his aid with memories of their own — Matters dismissed long since as small or vain. Whereof the high significance had lain Hid, till the ungirt glosses made it plain. Then, as enlightenment came broad and fast. Each marvelled at his own oblivious past Until — the Gates of Laughter opened wide — The Four, with that bland Seraph at their side. While they recalled, compared, and amplified. In utter mirth forgot both Zeal and Pride! INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 58,- Erf we7k "T" '^' '-""P^ °f "'"'"ighf burned Not'in ttr H """"^'"'- fl^- •'■""r returned, .^ot m that order they were wont to keeo- Pimon to p,nion answering, sweep fcr s'eep In awful diapason heard afar- ^' But shoutingly adrift 'twixt star and star- Reehng a planet's orbit left or right Or bvfh'" '"■' '^"^ '" ""= "'''^-"l Night- Or, by the pomt of some remembereu jest And e en Gehenna s bondsmen understood They were not damned from human brotherhood . O lovelier than th'eir ™ mlfct^ ™" °"'' ™'^- The understandmg light behhid the eye' O more compelling than their old command otLTerThTnlh'"'"""': ''''""' °' *""-d! VJ sweeter than their zealous fellowship The w,se half-smile that passed from L to lip- O well and roundly, when Command was eil^n L7in h f '^'^ '^''"'' themselteltoCen And m the silence, waiting on The Word Received the Peace and Pardon of The Lord! SHIV AND THE GRASSHOPPER SHIV. who^poured the harvest and made the winds to Sitting at the doorways of a day of lone aeo From th "t ^'" P""'""' ^-'' -d oH^anl^ate From the King upon the,«^.... to the Beggar'I't the gate. 'Throne. S86 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE All things made he — Shica the Preserver. Mahadeo ! Mahadeo ! He made all, — Thorn for the camel, fodder for the kine, And Mother's heart for sleepy head, 0 little Son of mine ! Wheat he gave to rich folk, millet to the poor, Broken scraps for holy men that beg from door to door; Cattle to the tiger, carrion to the kite, And rags and bones to wicked wolves without the wall at night. Naught he found too lofty, none he saw too low — Parbati beside him watched them come and go; Thought to cheat her husband, turning Shiv to jest — Stole the little grasshopper and hid it in her breast. So she tricked him, Shiva the Preserver. Mahadeo ! Mahadeo, turn and see ! Tall are the camels, heavy are the kine. But this was Least of Little Things, 0 little Son of mine t When the dole was ended, laughingly she said, "Master, of a million mouths is not one unfed?" Laughing, Shiv made answer, "All have had their part, Even he, the little one, hidden 'neath thy heart." From her breast she plucked it, Parbati the thief, Saw the Least of Little Things gnawed a new-grown leaf! Saw and feared and wondered, making prayer to Shiv, Who hath surely given meat to all that live! All things made he — Shiva the Preserver. Mahadeo ! Mahadeo ! He made all, — Thorn for the camel, fodder for the kine. And Mother s heart for sleepy head, 0 little Son of mine ! INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 THE FAIRIES' SIEGE ^ W^M K '"=7 S''"'",'"y charge to keep- VVcll have I kept the same! Playing with strife for the most of my life But this ,s a different game. ^ ' /« not fight against swords unseen, Ur spears that I cannot view— i 'S the Dreamer whose dreams come true! Ask him his terms and accept them at once, yuick, ere we anger him, go! Never before have I flinched f™m the guns. But this IS a different show. ^ ' /I not fight with the Herald of God (I know what his Master can do!) Open the gate, he must enter in state, T.s the Dreamer whose dreams come true! I'd not give way for an Emperor, Id hold my road for a King- To the Triple Crown I would not bow down- But this IS a different thing. /"not fight with the Powers of Air Sentry, pass him through' Drawbridge let fall, 'tis the Lord of us all The Dreamer whose dreams come true! S87 THE CHILDREN 1917 T"'SreTarrou^'ig? "^° '''' ^^ °- ^-^^- 'Her sSt^tS;^ '^^' °^ 'Heir home-treasured S88 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE The price of our loss shall be paid to our hands, not an- other's hereafter. Neither the Alien nor Priest shall decide on it. That is our right. But who shall return us the children ? m At the hour the Barbarian chose to disclose his pretences, And raged against Man, they engaged, on the breasts that they bared for us. The first felon-stroke of the sword he had long-time pre- pared for us — Their bodies were all our defense while we wrought our defenses. They bought us anew with their blood, forbearing to blame us, Those hours which we had not made good when the Judgment o'ercame us. They believed us and perished for it. Our statecraft, our learning Delivered them bound to the Pit and alive to the burning Whither they mirthfully hastened as jostling for honour — Not since her birth has our Earth seen such worth loosed upon her. Nor was their agony brief, or once only imposed on them. The wounded, the war-spent, the sick received no exemp- tion: Being cured they returned and endured and achieved our redemption. Hopeless themselves of relief, till Death, marvelling, closed on them. That flesh we had nursed from the first in all cleanness was given To corruption unveiled and assailed by the malice of Heaven — INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 5S9 By the^Wshaking jests of Decay where it lolled on the To be blanched or gay-p.i„.ed by fun^es-to be cindered by F^m c'atr^o ^^r;' F " 'T'"' "l ""'"^ ^-i'"-" A SONG TO MITHRAS (Hymn of the XXX Ugion: circ. 350 A. D.) MITHRAS. God or the Morning, our trumpets wa.en the NoHs I'nL' "'' ^"'°"'' ■"" Thou art over all- away" "^ ''"^"'^"''' "-"^ 'h^ g""ds are n,arched Mithras, also a soldier, give us strength for the day! SdSI;c'h o'irSeld^ ''^"'" '-'"'^ '" "-^ ''-'. Now in the unglrrhour-now er'' ""l','''"'''''^ burn our feet. Mithras, also a^soldt^eTurr/t^ot vot^r^' Mithras. God of the Sunset, low on the Western m • Mi.hras.a,^:r^^^^;-when^e^„e is drawn. Many ^as thou hast ^tht^-:?,^.:;^^;- ^ri^cel ^ Mithras, also a soldier, teach us to die arightf 590 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE THE NEW KNIGHTHOOD VI^HO gives him the Bath? "I," said the wet, Rank-Jungle-sweat, "I'll give him the Bath!" Who'll sing the psalms? "We," said the Palms. "Ere the hot wind becalms, "We'll sing the psalms." Who lays on the sword ? "I," said the Sun, " Before he has done, "I'll lay on the sword." "Who fastens his belt? "I," said Short-Rations, "I know all the fashions "Of tightening a belt!" Who gives him his spur? "I," said his Chief, Exacting and brief, "I'll give him the spur." Who'll shake his hand? "I," said the Fever, "And I'm no deceiver, "I'll shake his hand." Who brings him the wine? "I," said Quinine, " It's a habit of mine. "I'll come with his wine." INCLUSIVE EDITION. I8«5-1918 VVho'll put hini to proof? I. said Ail Earth. VVhatewr he's worth ' " put to the proof." Who'll choose him for Knight' J. said his Mother, ^ My Very own Knight - •^ as It might be last week! OUTSONG IN THE JUNGLE Ba LOO F°ff 'he sake of him who showed wLS^iSd;:^^^!^-" Keep the Law and go thy wav ' Gtra-e^S^'^-^^P-"- S9I im 59* RUDYARD KIPLING S VERSE Kaa Anger is the egg of Fear — Only lidless eyes see clear. Cobra-iwison none may leech — Even so with Cobra-speech. Open talk shall call to thee. Strength, whose mate is Courtesy. Send no lunge beyond thy length. Lend no rotten bough thy strength. Gauge thy gape with buck or goat, Lest thine eye should choke thy throat. After gorging, wouldst thou sleep? Look thy den be hid and deep, Lest a wrong, by thee forgot. Draw thy killer to the spot. East and West and North and South, Wash thy hide and close thy mouth. (Pit and rift and blue pool-brim, Middle-Jungle follow him!) lyood and Heater, fVind and Tree, Jungle-Favour go wilh thee ! Bagheera In the cage my life began; Well I know the worth of Man. By the Broken Lock that freed — Man-cub, 'ware the Man-cub's breed! Scenting-dew or starlight pale. Choose no tangled tree-cat trail. Pack or council, hunt or den. Cry no truce with Jackal-Men. Feed them silence when they say: "Come with us an easy way." Feed them silence when they seek Help of thine to hurt the weak. INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 Make no i«„^^^.^ ,^^ rurn thee fion, thy hunting line (Mornmg m.st or twilight clear 'J'he Three frisonedjrom our Molhr-sky """"S'^'.lhyhvcgoby/' ]? "'"0,1 thou canst no, bnak fyoodandlVater, mnd and Tree "l^^^'^'-^S'renpKandCourt;:": Jmgle-Famur go with thee! HARP SONG OF T^ DANE WOMEN ^AnYtherT^ ""'' y°^ fo^oke her ivi-^M^^^-Tir That the p.,e suns and the str:;"bergs nest in Out on the rocks whefe thf trha'ro'ltd y^"." 593 S94 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Yet, when the signs of summer thicken, And the ice breaks, and the birch-buds quicken, Yearly you turn from our side, and sicken — Sicken again for the shouts and the slaughters. You steal away to the lapping waters. And look at your ship in her winter-quarters. You forget our mirth, and talk at the tables. The kine in the shed and the horse in the stables — To pitch her sides and go over her cables. Then you drive out where the storm-clouds swallow, And the sound of your oar-blades, falling hollow, Is all we have left through the months to follow. Ah, what is Woman that you forsake her, And the hearth-fire and the home-acre. To go with the old grey Widow-maker? THE THOUSANDTH MAN QNE man in a thousand, Solomon says. Will stick more close than a brother. And it's worth while seeking him half your days If you find him before the other. Nine hundred and ninety-nine depend On what the world sees in you. But the Thousandth Man will stand your friend With the whole round world agin you. 'Tis neithf^r promise nor prayer nor show Will settle the finding for 'ee. Nine hundred and ninety-nine of 'em go By your looks, or your acts, or your glory. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 ""• )"U in any water. S9S Thin h ^'■'' ''""••■ *'"• "" ">'>^' talk I h. n he uses yours C.r his spculings, •^ncl laugh and meet in vour .lailv w- Ik As though ,h,rchaclbca, no Uai,;r N.nc hundred and ninety-nine of en, call « tthelhousandth.Manhe-sworth-en, Because you can show him your feelings all. f^sr:f;cJs:^o^"''-'«^'•^y--i."^ "■thM«/ for your only reason! JNme hundred and ninety-nine can't bide The shame or mocking Jr laughter, ''' But the I housandth Man will stand l.y your side lo the gallows-toot— and after! ^ THE WINNERS WHAT is the moral ? Who rides may read . When the n.ght is thick and the tracks are I A fnend at a pinch is a friend indeed, Oolntrrr'''"''""'''''gSard behind, uown to Gehenna or up to the Throne He travels the fastest who travels Z; 'lind 596 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE White hands cling to the tightened rein, Slipping the spur from the booted heel, Tenderest voices cry "Turn again," Red lips tarnish the scabbarded steel, High hopes faint on a warm hearth stone — He travels the fastest who travels alone. One may fall but he falls by himself — Falls by himself with himself to blame. One may attain and to him is pelf — Loot of the city in Gold or Fame. Plunder of earth shall be all his own Who travels the fastest and travels alone. Wherefore the more ye be holpen and stayed Stayed by a friend in the hour of toil, Sing the heretical song I have made — His be the labour and yours be the spoil. Win by his aid and the aid disown — He travels the fastest who travels alone! A ST. HELENA LULLABY UOW far is St. Helena from a little child at play?" What makes you want to wander there with all the world between? Oh, Mother, call your son again or else he'll run away. {No one i/iinks of winter when the grass is green .') "How far is St. Helena from a fight in Paris street?" I haven't time to answer now — the men are falling fast. The guns begin to thunder, and the drums begin to beat {If you take the first step, you will take the last .') INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 5,7 "How far is St. Helena from the field of Austerlit.^- Vou couldn't hear me if I told— so l„„,l ft, But not so far for people wt nrTlt m^tyXIrwir^' '•How far is St. Helena from an Emperor of Franc'" 1 cannot see — I cannot tA\ ,u ' ^"" or 1 ranee.' The Kings sit doTn i 7er' .ndTh" (t ' ''''"''-' T dance. ^ V>"cens stand up to (.After open wealhcr you may look /or s„o^ ') I^South across the Lter ^^der^'ct \ alhngTaV" ""• {ma, yon canno, finish you must leave undone^ '■How far is St. Helena from the Beresina ice'" .^n ,11 way-a chiU way-the ice begins to crack But not so far for gentlemen who nfver took advice me,, you can't ^ojorv^ard you must e'en eomeCt}) W wa!' "'■ r^''"" ^""l '^' ''^'^ of VVaterloo?" (Mormng never tries you till the afternoon ') "How far from St. Helena to the Gate of Heaven's Tr.. '" And after all your trape'sl^^srcirii::;!,!?""" "'' ^""^^='^^-' CHIL'S SONG 'r"'^^^rI?ri"/,TPf"'°"^ eoing forth by night- {ForChtl! LookyouJorChiln ^ ^ Now come I to whi.le them th/ending 0/ the fight. (Lhil! Vanguards of Chil !) S98 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Word they gave me overhead of quarry newly slain, Word I gave them underfoot of buck upon the plain. Here's an end of every trail — they shall not speak again! They that cried the hunting-cry— they that followed fast— (For Chit! Look you, for Chil !) They that bade the sambhur wheel, or pinned him as he passed — (Chil! Vanguards of Chil !) They that lagged behind the scent— they that ran before, They that shunned the level horn — they that over-bore. Here's an end of every trail — they shall not follow more. These were my companions. Pity 'twas they died! {For Chil ! Look you, for Chil .') Now come 1 to comfort them that knew them in their pride. (Chil ! Vanguards of Chil !) Tattered flank and sunken eye, open mouth and red. Locked and lank and lone they lie, the dead upon their dead. Here's an end of every trail— and here my hosts are fed! THE CAPTIVE ^OT with an outcry to .'\llah nor any complaining He answered his name at the muster and stood to the chaining. When the twin anklets were nipped on the leg-bars that held them, He brotherly greeted the armourers stooping to weld them. Ere the sad dust of the marshalled feet of the chain-gang swallowed him. Observing him nobly at ease, I alighted and followed him. Thus we had speech by the way, but not touching his sor- row— Rather his red Yesterday and his regal To-morrow, INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 599 ""'"ga'ded'""'"'' ""'^'^ " '''■■ ^''"'^ °^his chains unre- F.mhroidered with names of the Djinns-a n,iraculous weav- Bound^by^th,s n,an we had bound, amid'captives his cap- Till he returned me to earth and the visions departed ""heane'dV^ ^"" ""'^ '''' '''-'"g' ^^^ great- THE PUZZLER JHE Celt in all his variants from Builth to BalK-hoo H,s mental processes are plain-.ne knows wh'at he will And can logically predicate his finish by his start- But the^Lngl,sh-ah. the English!-tLy a:r:;;ite a race Their psychology is bovine, their outlook crude and raw Bu^ he straw Z T'"" " '^^f^'^'' ^"^ --"" th'-TerltdS- " "'^''' ^■'"-"'^ ^'^^ '"•- ^''' '^irlT ' '"''^'''' '''"^ - ''-^^ '"- ^oeman-s For undemocratic reasons ane trumpets are And the thunders of the Press! 60 1 Or the /-;,«„ that we liring forth » Canst thou send the lightnings to do thy will. And cause them reign on earth? ' Ha^t thou given a peacock goodly wings To please his foolishness? ^ S.t down at the heart of men and things, Uimpanion of the Press! The Pope may launch his Interdict, ine Union its decree Whjle Thrones and Powers confess That King over all the children of pride Is the Press-the Prcss-the Press' HADRAMAUTI W"?earn7 ''' *"="" "' '""^ ^'^-^■-•' "ow does he What are his measures and balanrp»P wu- k ■ l- ^oriaughter,forhearanceor£rh:d;a:^dSt'L':Lrv: When he arises to smite us? / do not love him. 6o2 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE He invites the derision of strangers — he enters all places. Booted, bareheaded he enters. With shouts and embraces He asks of us news of the household whom we reckon name- less. Certainly Allah created him forty-fold shameless! So it is not in the Desert. One came to me weeping — The Avenger of Blood on his track — I took him in keeping. Demanding not whom he had slain, I refreshed him, I fed him As he were even a brother. But Eblis had bred him. He was the son of an ape, ill at ease in his clothing. He talked with his head, hands and feet. I endured him with loathing. Whatever his spirit conceived his countenance showed it As a frog shows in a mud-puddle. Yet I abode it! I fingered my beard and was dumb, in silence confronting him. His soul was too shallow for silence, e'en with Death hunting him. I said: "'Tis his weariness speaks," but, when he had rested. He chirped in my face like some sparrow, and, presently, jested! Wherefore slew I that stranger? He brought me dishonour. I saddled my mare, Bijli, I set him upon her. I gave him rice and goat's flesh. He bared me to laughter. When he was gone from my tent, swift I followed after. Taking my sword in my hand. The hot wine had filled him. Under the stars he mocked me — therefore I killed him! INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 CHAPTER HEADINGS THE NAULAHKA WE MEET in an evil land i wait for thy command InHT"' '° 'P""'' "' withstand, '^ndthousayest, Idonotwcll? Oh Love, the flowers so red Are only tongues of flame, The earth is full of the dead, I he new-k.lled, restless dead. There is danger beneath and overhead And I guard thy gates in fear ' W words thou canst not hear, Uf peril and jeopardy, W signs thou canst not see- And thou sayest 'tis ill that I came? This I saw when the rites were done. 603 ^ow It is not I ' Arya"n\r:i '" ''' ^''^"--'^ ''-'^h - hustle th. """'t.S^H:;;^d;::^'^^^^^--i'-ndhewear.h "'oV;it tfdeS 'd'^ ^'""^"-^ *'>'- -'^H the name And the^e^taph drear: "A Fool lies here who tried to hustle 6o4 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Beat off in our last fight were we? The greater need to seek the sea. For Fortune changeth as the moon To caravel and picaroon. Then Eastward Ho! or Westward Ho! Whichever wind may meetest blow. Our quarry sails on either sea, Fat prey for such bold lads as we, .4nd every sun-dried buccaneer Must hand and reef and watch and steer, And bear great wrath of sea and sky Before the plate-ships wallow by. Now, as our tall bows take the foam, Let no man turn his heart to home. Save to desire treasure more. And larger warehouse for his store. When treasure won from Santos Bay Shall make our sea-washed village gay. Because I sought it far from men, In deserts and alone, I fouiid it burning overhead, The jewel of a Throne. Because I sought — I sought it so And spent my days to find — It blazed one moment ere it left The blacker night behind. When a lover hies abroad. Looking for his love, Azrael smiling sheathes his sword. Heaven smiles above. Earth and sea His servants be. And to lesser compass round, That his love be sooner found! INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 There was a strife 'twixt man and maid- Oh that was at the birth of time! ^"':''«^f^"'fwixt man and maid, Oh hats heyond the grip of rhyme iwas Sweet, I must not bide with you " And Love, I cannot bide alone"- ' ' A^Hk" .'"•■'■' >;"""« ■■•"'' ''"'h «'-rc true And both were hard as the nether St." * 605 There is pleasure in the wet, wet clav men the artist's hand is pottinr. it- There ^s pleasure in the wet, wet lav- VNhen the poet's pad is blotting it; ' ItrhVRotear^y.''''"^ '^'y- P''-^' "" ^He line «t^^?!:^^';;^,b;il!!!:"'^^"^^-'-Heese io a quite unwreckable Lie, To a most impeccable Lie I "" ' ^:::ia tr™'''^ ^"^'^-^™"' -"^-''-«^. -e-,oc.. Not a private hansom Lie, But a pair-and-brougham Lie ' "sSi'-'-"''-'"^' -^^ ^ country-house-with. And a nng-fence^leer-park Lie. We be the Gods of the East- Older than all- Masters of Mourning and Feast How shall we fall ? 6o6 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Will they gape for the husks that ye proffer Or yearn to your song? And we — have we nothing to offer Who ruled them so long — In the fume of the incense, the clash of the cymbals, the blare of the conch and the gong? Over the strife of the schools Low the day burns — Back with the kine from the pools Each one returns To the life that he knows where the altar-flame glows and the /«/j;' is trimmed in the urns. THE LIGHT THAT FAILED CO WE settled it all when the storm was done As comfy as comfy could be; And I was to wait in the barn, my dears, Because I was only three; And Teddy would run to the rainbow's foot Because he was five and a man; And that's how it all began, my dears. And that's how it all began! "If I have taken the common clay And wrought it cunningly In the shape of a God that was digged a clod, The greater honoui to me." 'If thou hast taken 'he common clay. And thy hands be not free From the taint of the soil, thou hast made thy spoil The greater shane to thee." The Holy B.isil. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 The wolf-cub at even lay hid in the corn When the smoke of the cooking hungre'v And h.'T \''T '^^■'^'' """•= a couch^for'hcr fawn And he looked to his strength for his prey ' But the moon swept the smoke-wreaths awav The lark will make her hymn to God, The partridge call her brood, Uhile forget the heath I trod, 1 he helds wherein I stood. T'is dule to know not night from morn, But greater dule to know I can but hear the hunter's horn 1 hat once I used to blow. There were three friends that buried the fourth The mould m h,s mouth and the dust in wZts And they went south and east and north- ^ The strong man fights but the sick man dies. There were three friends that spoke of the dead- ^5'h ""^,r."" fight= but the sick man dies- And would he were here with us now,'" they said The sun m our face and the wind in our eyes!" Yet a"t the til' "" °"' '^rr" ''="' fc""d him, 1 et at he ast, ere a sword-thrust could save Me spoke of the Faith as a master to slave Yet at the last, though the Kafirs had maimed him Broken by bondage and wrecked by the reTver H V/ '"''■ '^ '^' ''"^kness had c a?med him He called upon Allah, and died a Believer™ ' (>07 6o8 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE GALLIO'S SONG (And G>llia cared for none of thcK ihingi.— Acii xviii, 17) ^LL day long to the judgment-seat The crazed Provincials driw — All day long at their ruler's feet Howled for the blood of the Jew. Insurrection with one accord Banded itself and woke; And Paul was about to o(Kn his mouth When Achaia's Deputy sixjke— " Whether the God descend from above Or the Man ascend upon high. Whether this maker of tents hv Jove Or a younger deity— I will be no judge between your gods And your gotlless bickerings. Lictor, drive them hence with rods I care for none of these things! Were it a question of l.iwful due Or Cesar's rule denied, Reason would I should bear with you And order it well to be tried; But this is a question of words and names. I know the strife it brings. I will not pass upon any your claims. I care for none of these things. One thing only I see most clear, As I pray you also see. Claudius Caesar hath set me here Rome's Deputy to be. INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 ,«,. It is Her peace that ye p to brcak- iNot mine, nor any king s But, touching your clamour of 'Consci ^k,. > I care for none of these things. " ' -''"■• Wheih • ye rise for the sake of a creed Or norm hope of spoil, -"'■'■'■. Equally will I punish ,he ckcil, Equally check the broil; Nowise permitting injustice at all from whatever doctrine it springs- But-whether ye follow I'riipus or Paul I care for none of these things!" ' THE BEES AND THE FLIES A ™ER of the Augustan Age Perused mV,rgir,sgoU,n ,,4, The story of the secret won ^ from Proteus by Cyrenc's son- How the dank sea-god showed the swain Means to restore his hives again More bnefly, how a slaughtered bull Breeds honey by the bellyful. The egregious rustic put to death A bull by stopping of its breath, Uisposed the carcass in a shed W.th fragrant herbs and branches spread And havmg well performs the cha'rm Sat down to wait the promised swar,!!!' Nor waited long. The God of Day Impartial, quickening with his ray Evil and good alike, beheld I he carcass-and the carcass swelled 6io RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Big with new birth the belly heaves Beneath its screen of scented leaves. Past any doubt, the bull conceives! The farmer bids men bring more hives To house the profit that arrives; Prepares on pan, and key and kettle, Sweet music that shall make 'em settle; But when to crown the work he goes, Gods! What a stink salutes his nose! Where are the honest toilers? Where The gravid mistress of their care? A busy scene, indeed, he sees, But not a sign or sound of bees. Worms of the riper grave unhid By any kindly coffin-lid. Obscene and shameless to the light, Seethe in insatiate appetite. Through putrid offal, while above The hissing blow-fly seeks his love, Whose offspring, supping where they supt. Consume corruption twice corrupt. ROAD-SONG OF THE BANBAR-LOG J-JERE we go in a flung festoon. Half-way up to the jealous moon! Don't you envy our pranceful bands? Don't you wish you hsd extra hands? Wouldn't you like if your tails were— jo— Curved in the shape of a Cupid's bow? Now you're angry, but— never mind, Brother, thy tail hangs down behind ! 6ii INCLUSIVE EDITION, I88&-1918 Here we sit in a branchy row, Thinking of beautiful things we know Dreaming of deeds that we mean 0";, All complete, in a minute or two- Something noble and grand and good, Won by merely wishing we could Now we re going to-never mind. Brother, thy tail hangs down behind t All the talk we ever have heard Uttered by bat or beast or bird- Hide or fin or scale or feather— Jabber ,r quickly and all together! Excellent! Wonderful! Once again' Now we are talking just like men ' Let s pretend we are . . . Never mi„,li brother, thy tail hangs down 7ehiTdT This IS the way of the Monkey-kind! BytheruUish in our wa\, ::^ ^l^ Z-S:'^^"'' ' Be sure-be sure, we're going ,0 do some splendfd tZg/l THE FABULISTS I 9 I 4- I 8 WHEN all the world would ke.p a matter hid. Since Truth is seldom friend to anv crovd Men write m fable, as old .fisop clid ^ ' And this they needs mu,st do, or it will fall Unless they please they are not heard at a I 6l2 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE When desperate Folly daily laboureth To work confusion upon all we have, When diligent Sloth demandeth Freedom's death. And banded Fear commandeth Honour's grave — tven in that certain hour before the fall Unless men please they are not heard at all. Needs must all please, yet some not all foa-need Needs must all toil, yet some not all for gain. But that men taking pleasure may take heed, Whom present toil shall snatch from later pain. Thus some have toiled but their reward was small Since, though they pleased, they were not heard at all. This was the lock that lay upon our lips, This was the yoke that we have undergone, Denying us all ple.isant fellowships As in our time and generation. Our pleasures unpursued age past recall. And for our pains — we are not heard at all. What man hears aught except the groaning guns.' What man heeds aught save what each instant brings? When each man's life all imaged life outruns, What man shall pleasure in imaginings? So it hath fallen, as it was bound to fall. We are not, nor we were not, heard at all. "OUR FATHERS ALSO" 'J'HRONES, Powers, Dominions, Peoples, Kings. Are changing 'neath our hand. Our fathers also see these things But they do not understand. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 188S-1918 By-they are by with mirth and tears Wit or the works of Desire- * Cushioned about on the Icindly years Between the wall and the fire. 2aZT" "" '^'■"■'"•'''' '^' """ '^ shocked- Standeth no more to glean- for the Gates ofLove and Learning locked When they went out between. ^ All lore our Lady Venus bares, Signalled it was or told By the dear lips long given to theirs And longer to the mould. All Profit, all Device, all Truth Written it was or said By the mighty men of their mighty youth Which IS mighty being dead. ' ' The film that floats before their eyes The Temple's Veil they call- And the dust that on the Shewbread lies Is holy over all. Warn them ofseas that slip our yoke Ut slow-conspiring stars— The ancient Front of Things unbroke «ut heavy with new wars? By-they are by with mirth and tears. Wit or the waste of Desire- Cushioned about on the kindly years Between the wall and the fire! 613 6i4 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE A BRITISH-ROMAN SONG (a. d. 406) ^Y FATHER'S father saw it not. And I, belike, shall never come. To look on that so-holy spot — The very Rome — Crowned by all Time, all Art, all Might The equal work of Gods and Man, City beneath whose oldest height — The Race began! Soon to send forth again a brood, Unshakeable, we pray, that clings. To Rome's thrice-hammered hardihood — In arduous things. Strong heart with triple armour bound, Beat strongly, for thy life-blood runs, Age after Age, the Empire round — In us thy Sons Who, distant from the Seven Hills, Loving and serving much, require Thee — Ihee to guard 'gainst home-born ills, The Imperial P'ire! A PICT SONG > OME never looks where she treads. Always her heavy hooves fall, On our stomachs, our hearts or our heads; And Rome never heeds when we bawl. Rf INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 Her sentries pass on-that is all And we gather behind them in hordes. «rP/°' ? '•«°"q"er the Wall, With only our tongues for our swords. We arc the Little Folk— we' Too little to love or to hate Leave us alone and you'll see ' How we can drag down the State' We are the worm in the wood' V\e are the rot at the root' Hearethe taint in the blood' "« are the thorn in the foot! Mistletoe killing an oak- Rats gnawing cables in two- Moths making holes in a cloak- How they must love what they do' Yes-and we Little Folk too. We are busy as they— Working our works out of view- Watch, and you'll see it some day! No indeed! We are not strong, But we know Peoples that are. Yes, and we 11 guide them along "^shall be slaves just the same.? Yes, we have always been slaves, And then we shall dance or your graves! l^i- are the Little Folk, we, etc. 6i' ■- f- -Is Lest others take part in the quarrel, and the Pack be dimin- isned by war. The Lair of the Wolf is his refuge, but where he has digged it too plain, == The Council shall send him a message, a, J so he shall change It again. => If ye kill before midnight, be s.lcnt, and wake not the woods with your bay, Lest ye frighten the deer from the crops, and the brothers so empty away. ° Ye may kill for yourselves, and yo,„- mates, and your cubs as they need, and yr can- Hut kill m^ fcr pleasure of k.l!';.., and ...v,. u,.,. .ever k^ll If ye plunder his Kill from a we.ker, devour not all in thy Pack-Right ,s the right of the meanest; so leave him the head ana rhe nule. The Kill of the Pack is the meat of the Pack. Ye must eat where it lies; And no one may carry a- ■• of that meat to his lair, or he dies. jim^^m^ 6z8 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE The Kill of the Wolf is the meat of the Wolf. He may do what he will, But, till he has given permission, the Pack may not eat of that Kill. Cub-Right is the right of the Yearling. From all of his Pack he may claim I'uU-gorge when the killer has eaten; and none may refuse him the same. Lair-Right is the right of the Mother. From all of her year she may claim One haunch of each kill for her litter; and none may deny her the same. Cave-Right is the right of the Father— to hunt bv himself for his own: . He is freed of all calls to the Pack; he is judged by the Council alone. Because of his age and his cunning, because of his gripe and his paw, - , n »\' tc In all that the Law leavcth open, the word ot the Head Wolt is Law. mw these are the Laivs >,J the JuiisU; and many and mighty are But the head and the hoof of the Law and the haunch and the hump is — <)l/iy ! "A SERVANT WHEN HE REIGNF.TH" (For three things the e.irth Is l.squiete.l, and for f„i,r which it cannot bear. For a servant when he rei^ncth and a f«,l when he .s f I ed w.th meat; tor an odious woman when she ,s" married, and an handmaul that ,s heir to her mis- tress.—Prov. XXX. 11-22-23. ) npHREE things make earth unquiet .And four she cannot brook The godly Agur counted them And put them in a book— INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 Those Four Tremendous Curses With which mankind is cursed But a Servant when he Reigneth Old Agur entered first. An Handmaid that is Mistress We need not call upon, A Fool when he is full of Meat Will fall asleep anon. An Otlious Woman Married May bear a babe and mend, But a Servant when He Reigneth Is Confusion to the end. His feet are swift to tumult, His hands are slow to toil. His ears are deaf to reason, His lips are loud in broil. He knows no use for power Except to show his might. He gives no heed to judginent Unless it prove him right. Because he served a master Before his Kingship came. And hid in all disaster Behind his master's name, So, when his Folly opens The unnecessary hells, A Servant when He Reigneth 1 hrows the blame on some one else. His vows arc lightly spoken, His faith is hard to bind, His trust is easy broken. He fears his fellow-kind. 629 6^0 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE The nearest mob will move him To break the pledge he gave — Oh a Servant when He Rcigneth Is more than ever slave! MACDONOUGH'S SONG ■\X^HETHER the State can loose and bind In Heaven as well as on Earth: If it be wiser to kill mankind Before or after the birth — These are matters of high concern Where State-kept schoolmen are; But Holy State (we have lived to learn) Endeth In Holy War. Whether The People be led by the Lord, Or lured by the loudest throat : If it be quicker to die by the sword Or cheaper to die by vote — These are things we have dealt with once, (And they will not rise from their grave) For Holy People, however it runs, Endeth in wholly Slave. Whatsoever, for any cause, Seeketh to take or give. Power above or beyond the Laws, Suffer it not to live! Holy State or Holv Kinu — Or Holy People's Will- Have no truck with the senseless thing- Order the guns and kill! Saying — aftei — me: — INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 631 Once there was The P,ople~Terror ^ave it iirlh; Once there was The People and it made a Hell of Earth Earth arose and crushed it. u.ten, O ye slain' Once there was The People-it shall never be again > "OUR FATHERS OF OLD" EXCELLENT herbs had our fathers of oKl- Excellent herbs to ease their pain- Alexanders and Marigold, Eyebright, Orris, and Elecampane. Basil, Rocket, Valerian, Rue, (Almost singing themselves they run) Vervam, Djttany, Call-me-to-you— Cowslip, Meliiot, Rose of the Sun. Anything green that grew out of the mould Has an excellent herb to our fathers of old. Wonderful tales had our fathers of old V\onderful tales of the herbs and the srars— 1 he Sun was Lord of the Marigold, Basil and Rocket belonged to Mars. Pat as a sum in division it goes— (Every herb had a planet bespoke)— Who but Venus should govern the Rose? Who but Jupiter own the Oak? Simply and gravely the facts are told In the wonderful books of our fathers of old Wonderful little, when all is said. Wonderful little our fathers kn'e Half their ren M. nedi( )st of their teaching was red you ilead- quite untrue 632 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE "Look at the stars when a patient is ill, (Dirt has nothing to do with disease,) Bleed and blister as much as you will. Blister and bleed him as oft as you please." Whence enormous and manifold Errors were made by our fathers of old. "et when the sickness was sore in the land, And neither planets nor herbs assuaged, They took their lives in their lancet-hand And, oh, what a wonderful war they waged! Yes, when the crosses were chalked on the door — (Yes, when the terrible dead-cart rolled,) Excellent courage our fathers bore — Excellent heart had our fathers of old. None too learned, but nobly bold Into the fight went our fathers of old. If it be certain, as Galen says — And sage Hippocrates holds as much — "That those afflicted by doubts and dismays Are mightily helped by a dead man's touch," Then, be good to us, stars above! Then, be good to us, herbs below! We are afflicted by what we can prove. We are distracted by what we know — So — ah, so! Down from your heaven or up from your mould, Send us the hearts of our fathers of old! THE HERITAGE r^UR Father; in a wondrous age, Ere yet the Earth was small. Ensured to us an heritage, And doubted not at all INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 633 That we, the children of their heart. Which then did beat so high, In later time should play like part For our postcritj. A thousand years they steadfast built. To 'vantage us and ours, The Walls that were a world's despair, The sea-constraining Towers: Yet in their midmost pride they knew. And unto Kings made known, Not all from these their strength they drew, I'heir faith from brass or stone. Youth's passion, manhood's fierce intent, With age's judgment wise. They spent, and counted not they spent, At daily sacrifice. Not lambs alone nor purchased doves Or tithe of trader's gold— Their lives most dear, their dearer loves, They offered up of old. Refraining e'en from lawful thin;:.-, They bowed the neck to bear' The unadornid yoke that brings Stark toil and sternest care. Wherefore through them is Freedom sure; Wherefore through them we stand, From all but sloth and pride secure. In a delightsome lanil. Then, fretful, murmur not they gave So great a charge to keep, Nor dream that awestruck Time shall save Their labour while we sleep. 6.U RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Dear-bought and clear, a thousand year, Our fathers' title runs. Make we likewise their sacrifice. Defrauding not our sons. CHAPTER HEADINGS BEAST AND MAN IN INDIA 'T'HEY killed a child to please the Gods In earth's young penitence, And I have bled in that Babe's stead Hccause of innocence. I bear the sins of sinful men That have no sin of my uwn, They drive me forth to Heaven's wrath Unpastured and alone. I am the meat of sacrifice, The ransom of man's guilt. For they give my life to the altar-knife Wherever shrine is built. The Goat. Between the waving tufts of jungle-grass. Up from the river as the twilight falls, Across the dust-beclouded plain they pass On to the village walls. Great is the sword and mighty is the pen. But over all the labouring ploughman's blade- For on its oxen and its husbandmen An Empire's strength is laid. The Oxen. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 The torn houghs trailing o'er the tusks aslant, The saphnys reeling in the path he trml, Declare his might- .nir lord the Klephant, Chief of the ways of Goil, (>}$ The Mack bulk heaving wlore the oxen pant, I he bowed head toiling where the guns careen, Declare our might— our slave the f kphant And servant of the Queen. VVii' E/epliaiii, Dark children of the mere and marsh, Wallow and waste and lea, CXitcaste they wait at the vi With folk of low degree. lage gate Their pasture is in no man's land, Their food the cattle's scorn. Their rest is mire and their disire The thicket and the thorn. But woe to those that break their sleep, And woe to those that dare To rouse the herd-bull fr989 - Fa- 636 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Shouts in their silky ears Filling their soul with fears. When he has ploughed the land, He says: "They understand." But the beasts in stall together, Freed from the yoke and tether. Say as the torn flanks smoke: "Nay, 'twas the whip that spoke." LIFE'S HANDICAP 'T'HE doors were wide, the story saith, Out of the night came the patient wraith. He might not speak, and he could not stir A hair of the Baron's minniver. Speechless and strengthless, a shadow thin. He roved the castle to find his kin. And oh! 'twas a piteous sight to see The dumb ghost follow his enemy! The Return of Imray. Before my Spring I garnered .'Vutumn's gain, Out of her time my field was white with grain. The year gave up her secrets, to my woe. Forced and deflowered each sick season lay In mystery of increase and decay; I saw the sunset ere men see the day. Who am too wise in all I should not know. Without Benefit of Clergy. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 ('}7 KIM U'^P. '^'?.°'^ "'-■ ^^^ Pi-egnant suns arc poised, With K lot moons and stars retracting stars? Creep thou between-thy coming's all unnoisal. Heaven hath her high, as Karth her baser, wars. Heir to these tumults, this affright, that fray (By Adam's, fathers', own, sin bound alway)- Peer up, draw out thy horoscope and sav W.iich planet mends thy threadbare fatj, or mars MANY INVENTIONS 'pHERE'S a convict more in the Central Jail Behind the old mud wall; ' There's a lifter less on the Border trail, And the Queen's Peace over all, Dear boys, The Queen's Peace over all! er^y. For we must bear our leader's blame. On us the shame will fall, If we lift our hand from a fettered land And the Queen's Peace over all. Dear boys, The Queen's Peace over all! The Lost Legion. 638 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE 'Less you want your toes trod ofF you'ii better get back at once, I'"or the bullocks are walking two by two, The byles are walking two by two, Ami the elephants bring the guns. Ho! Yuss! Great — big— long — black — forty-pountler guns. Jiggery-jolty to anil fro, Kach as big as a launch in tow — Blind — dumli — broad-breeched — beggars o' batrering-guns. My Lord the Elephant. All the world over, nursing their scars, Sit the old fighting-men broke in the wars- Sit the old fighting men, surly and grim Mocking the lilt of the conquerors' hymn. Dust of the battle o'erwhelmed them and hid, Fame never found them for aught that they did. Wounded and spent to fhe lazar they drew, Lining the road where the Legions roll through. .Sons of the Laurel who press to your meed, (Worthy God's pity most — ye who succeed!) F."e you go triumphing, crowned, to the stars. Pity poor fightin n, broke in the wars! Collected. pUT forth to watch, unschooled, alone, 'Twixt hostile earth and sky; The mottled lizard 'neath the stone Is wiser here than I. INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 639 What stir across the haze of heat? What omen down the wimi ? The buck that break before my feet— They know, but I am bliml!' ColU'clcd. I 9 I 4 - I 8 pAREWF.r.I. anil adieu to you, Harwich Ladies, Farewell and atlieu to you, ladies ashore' For we've received orders to work to the east\.ard Where we hope in a short time to strafe 'em some more. We'll duck and we'll dive like little tin turtles We'll duck and we'll dive underneath the N'orth Seas Lntil we strike something that doesn't expect us, From here to Cuxhaven it's go as you please! Ivt ^l^^ '.'''"^ ^^ '"'^ ""' '° '''"^'^ '" =" minertcld, \Vhich isn't a place where repairs should be done; And there we lay doggo in twelve-fathom water With tri-nitro-toluol hogging our run. The next thing we did, we rose under a Zeppelin With his shiny big belly hdf blocking the sky. But what in the— Heavens can vou do with six-pounders? 5>o we fired what we had and we bade him good-bye. Farewell and adieu, &c. Fringes of the Fleet. 640 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE JONG OF THE FIFTH RIVER W/HEN first by Eden T ^^ The Four Great Ri- 1 Tree, tivers ran, To each was appointed a Man Her Prince and Ruler to be. But after this was ordained, (The ancient legends tell). There came dark Israel, I'or whom no River remained. Then He Whom the Rivers obey Said to him: "Fling on the ground A handful of yellow clay, And a Fifth Great River shall run, Mightier than these Four, In secret the Earth around; And Her secret evermore. Shall be shown to thee and thy Race.' m So it was said and done. And, deep in the veins of Earth, And, fed by a thousand springs That comfort the market-pl.ace, Or sap the power of Kings, The Fifth (Jreat River had birth, Even as it was foretold — - The Secret River of Gold! iiii And Israel laid down His sceptre and his crown. To brood on that River bank, Where the waters flashed and sank, INCLUSIVE EDITION, 188S-1918 641 Ami burrowed in earth and fell, And billed a season below, For reason that none might know. Save only Israel. He is loKi of the Last — The I'lith, most wonderful, Klood. He h ars Her thunder past And rier Song is in his blood. He can foresay: "She W'll fall," tor he knows which fountain dries Behind which desert-belt A thousand leagues to the South. He can foresay: "She will rise." He knows what far snows melt: Along what mountain-wall A thousand leagues to the North. He snuffs the coming drouth As he snuffs the coming rain. He knows what each will bring forth. And turns it to his gain. A Ruler without a Throne, A Prince without a Sword, Israel follows his quest. In every land a guest. Of many lands a lord, In no land King is he. But the Fifth Great River keeps The secret of Her deeps For Israel alone. As it was ordered to be. 64a RUDYARD KIPLING S VERSE THK CHILORKN'S SOXG f AND of (lur Birth, wc- plcilgi- to thic Our love and roil in the years to he; When we are yrown ami take our plaee, As men and women with our raee. Father in Heaven who lovest all. Oh help Thy children when they call; That they may huild from aye to age, An untlehled heritage. Teach U.S to bear the yoke in youth, With steadfastness and careful truth; That, in our time. Thy Grace may eive The Truth whereby the Nations live. Teach us to rule ourselves alwav. Controlled and cleanly night and day; That we ma)- bring, if need arise, No maimed or worthless sacrifice. Teach us to look in a'.l our ends. On Thee for judge, and not our friends; That we, with Thee, may walk uncowed By fear or favour of the crowd. Teach us the Strength that cannot seek, By deed or thought, to hurt the weak; That, under Thee, we may possess Man's strength to comfort man's distress. Teach us Delight in simple things, .And Mirth that has no bitter springs; Forgiveness free of evil done, .And Love to all men 'neath the sun! INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 Uxdof our Uirlh. our faith, our pri.lc O/i Motherland, w,- />/,•,/(,,■ /„ //;,,,. /AW, hatrt, ami haud 'through iL years to be! ''4,1 PARADE-SOXG OI' THE CAMP-A\IMALS Klephants of the Gi-.v-Teams \yF. I,KXT to Alexander th. .strength of Hcrrulcs 1 he w,sd,,„u,h,.rf.HviK.ads,rlK. cunning o,:.,; We bowed our necks to again. ^ . ..r knees, tlley ne'er were loosed Make w^ tl^re ,vay ^.r the ten-f.ot tean.s Ut the I'orty-Pounder train! Gl.N.B[I.I,OCKS Those heroes in their harnesses avoid a cannon-hall Ihen ^e conie >nto act.on and tuir the guns a.^in Make w.-^- there way for the twe'ny ytke ^ ' Ut the 1-orty-Pounder train! Cavalry Morses By the brand on my withers, the finest of tunes ^s played by the Lancers, Hussars, and DrCs. And Its swee er than "Stables" or "Water" to „,■• TheCavalryCanterof-BonnieDundee!" ' Then feed us and break us and han.ile and groom And g,ve us good rulers and plenty of roomf ' And launch us m column of squadron and s-e The \\ay of the War-horse to ''Bonnie Dun ee- 644 RUDVARD KIPLING'S VERSE ScREW-Gim Mules As me and my companions were scrambling up a hill, The path was lost in rolling stones, but we went forward stiH; Kor wc can wriggle and climb, my lads, and turn up every- where, And it's our delight on a mountain height, with a leg or two to spare ! Gd luck to every sergeant, then, that lets us pick our road'. Bad luck to all the driver-men that cannot pack a load! For we can wriggle and climb, my lads, and turn up every- where, And it's our delight on a mountain height, with a leg or t.vo to spare ! Commissariat Camels We haven't a camelty tune of our own To help us trollop along. But every neck is a hair-trombone (Rit-la-ta-ta ! is a hair-trombone!) And this is our marching-song: Can't.' Don't! Shan't! IVon't! Pass it along the line! Somebody's pack has slid from his back, 'Wish it were only mine! Somebody's load has tipped oflFin the road- Cheer for a halt and a row! Urn! Yarrh! Grr ! Anh ! Somebody's catching it now! All the Beasts Together Children of the Camp are we, Serving each in his degree; Children of the yoke and goad, Pack and harness, pad and load. i ! i!i INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 Sec our lint; across the plain, Like a hecl-riipe licnt again, Rtatliing, writhing, rolling far, Sweeping all away to war! While the men that walk beside, Dusty, silent, heavy-eyeil. Cannot tell why we or they March ami suffer liay by ilay. Children of I hi Camp arc k,; Snvi)ig each in his degree; Children of the yoke and fr„ud. Pack and harness , pad and load. Hi IF JF YOU can keep your head when all about ycm Are losing theirs and blaming it on you. If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you. But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting. Or being lied about, don't deal in lies. Or being hated don't give way to hating. And yet don't look too good, nor talk too v a; If you can dream— and not make dreams your masi If you can think — and not make thoui^hts your If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same; If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools. Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken. And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools; i C^C, RUUYARD KIPLING'S VERSE If vou tun maki; cmf hiap (if all your winninijs And risk it on unt; turn of pitih ami-toss, Anil lose, and start .lyain at your liL-yinrings Ami m-vcr lircathf a wonl aliout your loss; If vou can forLC your heart ami nerve anil sinew To serve your turn lonj; after they are ijone. Anil so hoM on when there is nothing in you Kxeept the Will which says to them: "HoKI on!" If vou can talk with crowds and keep your virtue. Or walk with Kin(j;s-- nor lose the common touch. If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you. If all men count with you, but mine too much; If you can HII the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds' worth of distance run. Yours is the Karth and everything that's in it. And— which is more— vou'll lie a Man, my son! H^ THE PRODIGAL SON (Western Version) fFRF. come I to my own again, Fed, forgiven and known again. Claimed by bone of my bone again And cheered by flesh of my flesh. The fatted calf is dressed for me, But tne husks have greater zest for me I think my pigs will be best for me, So I'm ofli'to the Yards afresh. I never was very refined, you see, (.^Vnd it weighs on my brother's mind, you see) But there's no reproach amoni| swine, d'you see, For being a bit of a swine. INCLUSIVK KDITION. 1885-1918 So I'm off with wallet an.l Mat) to tat The hri-ail that is thrci^ patts c h.-*f tn wheat. But u'l'ity 1)1-! there's a laui;h I VVIi.^h isn't thf ease when we dine. '■47 My father ylunrns and advises me, My brother sulks and despises me, And Mother cateehi^i s me Till I want to ^n . ut and swear. Ami, in spite ol ii,. !)utler's i;ravilv, I know that th sr .-ants have it T .Am a monster ot moral depravitj, And I'm damned it' I think it's f'airl I wasted my sulistaner, I know I liid. On riotous living, so I iliil. But there's nothini; <'n reeonl to show I did More than my betters have done. They talk of the money I spent out there — They hint at the paee that I went out there But they all forget I was sent out there Alone as a rich man's son. io 1 was a mark for pluniier at once, .\nd lost my cash (can you wonder?) at once. But 1 didn't yive up and knock under at once, I worked in the Yards, for a spell, Where I spent my nights and my days with hogs, And shared their milk and maize with hoys. Till, I guess, I have learned what pays wi'th hogs And — I have that knowledge to sell! So li.ick I go to my ioli again, Not so easy to rob again, Or quite so ready to sob again On any neck that's around. 648 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE I'm leaving, Pater. Good-bye to you ! God bless you, Mater! I'll write to you. I wouldn't be impolite to you. But, Brother, you are a hound! THE NECESSITARIAN T KNOW not in Whose hands are laid To empty upon earth From unsuspected ambuscade The very Urns of Mirth; Who bids the Heavenly Lark arise And cheer our solemn round — The Test beheld with streaming eyes And grovellings on the ground; Who joins the flats of Time and Chance Behind the prey preferred, And thrones on Shrieking Circumstance The Sacredly Absurd, Till Laughter, voiceless through excess, Waves mute appeal and sore. Above the midriff's deep distress. For breath to laugh once more. No creed hath dared to hail Him Lord, No raptured choirs proclaim. And Nature's strenuous Overword Hath nowhere breathed His Name. Yet, it must be, on wayside jape, The selfsame Power bestows The selfsame power as went to shape His Planet or His Rose. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 REBIRTH 191 4-18 JF ANY God should say "I will restore The world her yesterday Whole as before My Judgment blasted it "-who would not lift Heart, eye, and hand in passion „Vr the gift? If any God should will To wipe from mind The memory of this ill Which is mankind In soul and substance now-who would not bless tven to tears His loving-tenderness? If any God should give Us leave to fly These present deaths we live And safely die In those lost lives we lived ere we were born- What man but would not laugh the excuse to scorn? 649 For we are what we are— So broke to blood And the strict works of war— So long subdued HardTv"nh'' """ "^^^"^"^"'••^ fie^th commands Hardly observance at our busier hands. 6;o RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE • Yet we were what we were, And, fashioned so, It pleases us to stare At the far show Of unbelievable years and shapes that flit. In our own likeness, on the edge of it. THE JESTER TpHERE are three degrees of bliss At the foot of Allah's Throne And the highest place is his Who saves a brother's soul At peril of his own. There is the Power made known! There are three degrees of bliss In the Gardens of Paradise, And the second place is his Who saves his brother's soul By excellent advice. For there the Glory lies! There are three degrees of bliss And three abodes of the Blest, And the lowest place is his Who has saved a soul by a jest And a brother's soul in sport . But there do the Angels resort! ill* INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 651 A SONG OF TRAVEL ■y^/'HERE'S the lamp that Hero lit Once to call Leander home ? Equal Time hath shovelled it "Neath the wrack of Greece and Rome. Neither wait we any more That worn sail which Argo bore. Dust and dust of ashes close All the Vestal Virgins' care; And the oldest altar shows But an older darkness there. Age-encamped Oblivion Tenteth every light that shone. Yet shall we, for Suns that die, Wall our wanderings from des'ire ? Or, because the Moon is high Scorn to use a nearer fire? Lest some envious Pharaoh stir, Make our lives our sepulchre? Nay I Though Time with petty Fate Prison us and Emperors, By our Arts do we create That which Time himself devours— Such machines as well may run 'Gainst the Horses of the Sun. When we would a new abode, Space, our tyrant King no more, Lays the long lance of the road At our feet and flees before, Breathless, ere we overwhelm. To submit a further realm 1 «5« RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE THE TWO-SIDED MAN V^UCH I owe to the Lands that grew— More to the Lives that fed — But m jst to Allah Who gave me two Separate sides to my head. Much I reflect on the Good and the True In the Faiths beneath the sun, But most upon Allah Who gave me two Sides to my head, not one. Wesley's following, Calvin's flock, White or yellow or bronze, Shaman, Ju-ju or Angekok, Minister, Mukamuk, Bonze — Here is a health, my brothers, to you. However your prayers are said, And praised be Allah Who gave me two Separate sides to my head ! / would go without shirt or shoe. Friend, tobacco or bread, S iner than lose for a minute the two Separate sides of my head! A TRANSLATION (Horace, Bk. V. Ode 3) •TPHERE are whose study is of smells, And to attentive schools rehearse How something mixed with something else Makes something worse. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 Some cultivate in broths impure The clients of our body— these, Increasing without Venus, cure, ' Or cause, disease. Others the heated wheel extol, And all its offspring, whose 'concern Is how to make it farthest roll And fastest turn. Me, much incurious if the hour Present, or to be paid for, brings Me to Brundusium by the power Of wheels or wings; Me, in whose breast no flame hath burned Life-long, save that by Pindar lit, 5>uch lore leaves cold. I am not turned Aside to it More than when, sunk in thought profound Uf what the unaltering Gods require. My steward (friend but slave) brings round Logs for my fire. 653 "L. iNNON" (Song of the Seal-rookeries. Aleutian Islands) I MET my mates in the morning (and oh, but I am old!) rolled."'"^ °" ^^^"' '*'" '""""" gf""'"l-''well I ''^"d^^them lift the chorus that drowned the breakers" The Beaches of Lukannon-two million voices strong! 6S4 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE The song of pleasant stations beside the salt lagoons. The song of blowing squadrons that shuffled down the dunes. The song of midnight dances that churned the sea to flame— The Beaches of Lukannon— before the sealers came I I met my mates in the morning (I'll never meet them more!); They came and went in legions that darkened all the shore. And through the foam-flecked offing as far as voice could reach We hailed the landing-parties and we sang them up the beach. The Beaches of Lukannon~the winter-wheat so tall— The dripping, crinkled lichens, and the sea-fog drenching all ! The platforms of our playground, all shining smooth and worn ! The Beaches of Lukannon — the home where we were born ! I meet my mates in the morning, a broken, scattered band. Men shoot us in the water and club us on the land; Men drive us to the Salt House like silly sheep and tame, And still we sing Lukannon — before the sealers came. IVhee! down, wheel down to southward I Oh, Gooverooska go ! And tell the Deep-Sea Viceroys the story of our woe; Ere, empty as the shark's egg the tempest flings ashore. The Beaches of Lukannon shall know their sons no more ! AN ASTROLOGER'S SONG "TpO THE Heavens above us O look and behold The Planets that love us All harnessed in gold! JVhat chariots, what horses Against us shall bide While the Stars in their courses Do fight on our side? fits, lore !) ; shore, could •sain worn ! I band. me, ■a go J INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 All thought, all desires. That are under the sun, Are one with their fires, As we also are one. All matter, all spirit. All fashion, all frame, Receive and inherit Their strength from the same. Oh, man that dcniest All power save thine own fheir power in the highest Is mightily shown. Not less in the lowest That power is made clear. (Uh, man, if thou knowcst. What treasure is here!) Earth quakes in her throes And we wonder for why When ,e' ruler is nigh; And, attuned since Creation To perfect accord. She thrills in her station And yearns to her Lord. The waters have risen. The springs are unbound— The floods break their prison, And ravin around. ^'° '■"T'Part withstands 'em. Their fury will last. Till the Sign that commands 'em Sinks low or swings past. 6S5 6s6 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Through abysses unproven, O'er gulfs beyond thought, Our portion is woven, Our burden is brought. Yet They that prepare it, Whose Nature we share, Make us who must bear it Well able to bear. Though terrors o'ertake us We'll not be afraid. No Power can unmake us Save that which has made: Nor yet beyond reason Or hope shall we fall — All things have their season. And Mercy crowns all! Then, doubt not, ye fearful — The Eternal is King — Up, heart, and be cheerful. And lustily sing:^ JF/iat chariots, what horses, Against us shall bide IVhile the Stars in their courses Do fight on our side ? "THE POWER OF THE DOG" TpHERE is sorrow enough in the natural way From men and women to fill our day; And when we are certain of sorrow in store. Why do we always arrange for more ? Brothers and Sisters, I bid you beware Of giving your heart to a dog to tear. INCLUSIVE EDITION. 188&-1918 Buy a pup and your money will buy Love unflinching that cannot lie- Perfect passion and worship fed By a kick in the ribs or a pat on the head. Nevertheless tt is hardly fair To risk your heart for a dog to tear. ^S7 When the fourteen years which Nature permits Are closmg m asthma, or tumour, or fits, And the vet's unspoken p-cscription runs lo lethal chambers or loaded guns. Then you will find—it's your own affair— But . . . you've given your heart to a dog lo tear. Hhen the body that lived at your single will Uith Its whimper of welcome, is stilled (how stilP). When the spirit that answered your every mood Js gone— wherever it goes— for good, You will discover how much you care. And will give your heart to a dog to tear. We ve sorrow enough in the natural way, V\hen It comes to burying Christian clay. Uur loves are not given, but only lent. At compound interest of cent per cent Though It is not always the case, I believe, That the longer we've kept 'em, the more do we grieve- For when debts are payable, right or wrong, ^ A short-time loan is as bad as a long— ^0 why in— Heaven (before we are there) ihould we give our hearts to a doi to tear > 6s8 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE THE RABBI'S SONG (II Sumurl xiv, 14.) IF THOUGHT can reach to Heaven, On Heaven let it dwell, For fear thy Thought lie given I.ike power to reach to Hell. For fear the desolation And darkness of thy mind Perplex an haliitation Which thou hast left behinil. Let nothing linger after- No whimpering ghost remain, In wall, or beam, or rafter. Of any hate or pain. Cleanse and call home thy spirit, Deny her leave to cast, On aught thy heirs inherit. The shadow of her past. For think, in all thy sadness, What road our griefs may take; Whose brain reflect our madness. Or whom our terrors shake: For think, lest any languish By cause of thy distress — The arrows of our anguish Fly farther than we guess. Our lives, our tears, as water. Are spilled upon the ground; God giveth no man quarter, Yet God a means hath found. Though faith and hope have vanished. And even love grows dim — A means whereby His banished Be not expelled from Him! INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885 I91H '"i'l THE BEE BOVS ,sC)N(i ^EES! Btti! Hark lo your bfes ! Bu, lult/rV"^ X'ilhbours as much as you pUasf, nul all that has happened, to m you must tell f>r else we will give you no honey to sell!" A maiden in her glnrv, Upon her weililing-day, Must tell her Bees the story, Or else they'll fly away. Ely away— die away— Dwindle down and leave you ! But if you don't deceive vour Bves, Your Bees will not deceive vou. Marriage, birth or Imryin', News across the seas', All you're sad or merry in, You must tell the Bees. Tell 'em coming in an' out. Where the Fanners fan, 'Cause the Bees are just about As curious as a man ! Don't you wait where trees are. When the lightnings play, Nor don't you hate where Bees are, Or else they'll pine away. Pine away — dwine away Anything to leave you! But if you never grieve your Bees, Your Bees '11 never grieve you. f)6o RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE THE SONG OF SEVEN CITIES f WAS Ixml (if Cities very sumiiiuciusly liiiilded. Seven roaring Cities paid me tribute from afar. Ivory their outixists were— the ({iiardrm>ms of them gildeii And garrisoned with Amazons invincible in war. .All the world went softly when it walked before my Cities— Neither King nor .iXrmy vexed my peoples at their toil. Never horse nor chariot irked or overbore my Cities, Never Mob nor Ruler questioned whence they drew their SlKlil. Banded, mailed and arroga it from sunrise unto sunset, Singing while they -ked it, they possessed the land al large. Vet when men would rob them, they resisted, they made onset And pierced the smoke of battle with a thousand-sabred charge. So they warred and trafficked only yesterday, my Cities. To-day there is no mark or mound of where my Cities stood. For the River rose at midnight and it washed away my Cities. They are evened with Atlantis and the towns' before the Flood. Rain on rain-gorged channels raised the water-levels lounil them. Freshet backed on freshet swelled and swept their world from sight. Till the emboldened floods linked arms and, flashing forward, drowned them — Drowned my Seven Cities and their peoples in one night! their INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 r... Wuh the^harsh cnven..m„l virgins that c.,„ neither lov. nor I was Lord of Cities- 1 will l.uil.l anew mv Citic-, Seven, set on rocks, al.„ve the wrath of ,,.«,' Nor will I rest from search till! h J, « T ''• r- With peoples undeftatea o/ th! a^Sj::::^^^'^- APtheLr,.;i:^'r^^:-— i:.::^^!,!:^''''' Ana the horses and the chariots fleeing from .-h'cm as .^f okl ! THE RETL:RX oF THE CHJEOREX Hold,ng^hands forlornly the Children wan whcflwriuht, fiiKI-survevor, (.■nijinct.T, And if flagrantly a poacher— 'tain't for me to intcrferl-. '•Hoi) what about that River-hit?" I turn to him .igain, \\ith I'abncius and Ogier and William ofWarenne "Hev it jest .is you've a mind to, ^,/"— and here he takes command. For whoever pays the taxes old Mus' Hobden owns the land. CHAPTER HF.ADIXGS JUST-SO STORIES ■^^HEN the cabin port-holes are dark and green Because of the seas outside; When the ship goes wop (with a wiggle between) And the steward falls into the soup-tureen. And the trunks begin to slide; When Nursey lies on the floor in a heap, And Mummy tells you to let her sleep, ' And you are n't waked or washed or dressed. Why, then you will know (if you have n't guessed) You 're "Fifty North and Forty West!" How the IVhatc Got His Throat. The Camel's hump is an uglv lump Which Well you may seeat the Zoo; But uglier yet is the hump we get From having too little to do. Kiddies and grown-ups foo-oo-oo, If we have n't enough to do-oo-oo, We get the hum]i — Cameelious hump — The hump that is black and blue! 670 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE We climb out of bed with a frouzly head And a snarly-yarly voice. We shiver and scowl and we grunt and we growl At our bath and our boots and our toys; And there ought to be a corner for me (And I know there is one for you) When we get the hump — Cameelious hump — The hump that is black and blue! The cure for this ill is not to sit still, Or frowst wi.h a book by the fire; But to take a large hoc and a shovel also, And dig till you gently perspire; And then you will find that the sun and the wind. And the Djinn of the Garden too. Have lifted the hump — The horrible hump — The hump that is black and blue! I get it as well as you-oo-oo — If I haven't enough to do-oo-oo! We all get hump— Cameelious hump — Kiddies and grown-ups too! How the Camel Got Hi. Hi, mp. I am the Most Wise Baviaan, saying in most wise tones, "Let us melt into the landscape — just us two by our loncs." People have come — in a carriage — calling. But Mummy is there. . . . Yes, I can go if )ou take me — Nurse says she don't care. Let's go up to the pig-styes and sit on the farmyard rails! inf. nes, unes." im\' is ils! INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 671 Lets say things to the bunnies, and watch 'em skitter their tails! Lct's~-c)h, anyMmjf, daddy, so long as it's you and nic. And going truly exploring, and not being in till tea! Here's your boots (I've brought 'em), and here's your cap and stick. And hert's your pipe and tobacco. Oh, come along nut of it —quick! How Ihe Leopard Got His Spots. I keep six honest serving-men (They taught me all I knew); Their names are What and Why and When And How and Where and Who. I send them over land and sea, 1 send them east and west; But after they have worked for me, / give them all a rest. / let them rest from nine till five, For I am busy then. As well as breakfast, lunch, and tea. For they are hungry men. But different folk have different views; I know a person small — She keeps ten million serving-men, Who get no rest at all ! She sends 'em abroad on her own affairs. From the second she opens her eyes — One million Hows, two million Whcrcs, And seven million Whys! The Kh-phani's Child. 672 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE This is the mouth-filling aong of the race that was run by a Boomtr. Run in a single hurst— only event of its kind— Starr«l l>v liii; (iod Miiong from \\arriyalK,rrigarooma, OKI Man Kangarof) first, Yellow-Doj; Dingo behind. Kangaroo linunded away, his l.a,.k-legs working like pistons- Bounded (n,Mi morniny till dark, twenty-five feet at a bound. Jellow-l)..g l),ng« lay like a yellow cloud in the distance— Much too busy to bark. My ! l„,t they covered the ground! Nobody knows where they went, or followed the track that they flew in, For that Continent hail n't been given a name. Ihcv ran thirty ilegrees, from Torres Straits to the Leeuwin (L(K.k at the Atlas, plea.se), then they ran back as they came. S'posing you could trot from Adelaide to the Pacific, bor an afteriKx.n's run-half what these gentlemen did— You W(,uld feel rather hot, but your legs would develop terrific — ' Ves, my importunate .son, you'd be a Marvellous Kid! The Siiig-Soiig 0/ Old Man Kangaroo. I've never sailed the Amazon, I've never reached Brazil; But the I)o}i and Magitahna, They can go there when thej' will! Yes, weekly from Southampton, Great steamers, white and gold, Go rolling down to Rio (Roll down — roll down to Rio!). And I'd like to roll to Rio Some day before I'm old! INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 I've never seen a Jaguar Nor yet an Armailill — O diiloing in his armour. And 1 s'[)osc 1 never will <>7i t'nle;:! I go to Kio These Wonders to lie hold -- Koll down -roll down to Kio— Ri'll really .lown to Ri„! Oh, I'd love to roll to Ki,, Some day hefore I'm old! T/iv /i,gwni„i; „///„■ .IrmaMlhes. China-poiny l>. and O.'s Pass Pau Amma's plavuroi.nd elo And his Pusat Tasek lies Near th raekof most B. I.'s N.Y' Kr A' "B BlK v.. A.T.I. N.n.I.. > home as well Sea knows Kiiliattinos. .r <|iieer) here; O. and O. anil . Must go round another wav. Orient, Anchor, BihI.v, Hall, Never go that way at all. U.C.S. would havL a fit If it found itself on ir. And if "Beavers" took their cargoes lo Penang instead of Lagos, Or a fat Shaw-Savill hore Passengers to Singapore, Or a White Star were to try a Little trip to Sourabaya, 674 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Or a B.S.A. went on Pajt Natal to Cherilxin, Then great Mr. Lloyds would come With a wire and drag them home! You'll kndw what my riddle means When you've eaten mangostccns. The Crab Thai Played with the Sea. Pussy can sit by the fire and sing, Pussy can climb a tree, Or play with a silly old cork and string To 'muse herself, not me. But / like Binkie my dog, because He knows how to behave; So, Binkie's the same as the Kirst Kricnd was, And I am the Man in the Cave! Pussy will play man-Kriday till It's time to wet her paw '.nd make her walk on the window-sill (For the footprint Crusoe .saw); Then she fluffles her tail and mews, .And .scratches and won't attend. But Binkie will pl.iy whatever I choose, And he is my true First Friend! Pussy will rub my knees with her head Pretending she love.s me hard; But the very minute 1 go to my bed Pussy runs out in the yard, And there she stays til! the morning-light; So I know it is only pretend; But Binkie, he snores at my feet all night, -And he is my Firstest Friend! The Cat That (Falked by Himself. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885 1918 There was never a yueen like Balkis, Krom here to the wide world's endj But Balkis talked to a liiitferfly As you would talk to a trienil. There was never a King like Solomon, Not since the world hct-.m, But Solomon talkeii to a luu'terriv As a man woulil talk tr. a man. She was Oueen ofSalKua - And In- was Asia's Ijird - Hut they l>oth ot'em talked to l.utterHies When they twik their walks alimaill Tin' liiilln/ly Thai Slampcd. '•7; I THE LOOKIXG CiLASS (. / Coiiiilry l')aikf) H,i daii^h.in: ^iaiis As lovely or unlucky or as lonely as I was!" .(J/d'iv/ /!i:ts was lliirrt's cliiiiffliltr. Xovj turn your partners all! The Oueen was in her chaniher, a-weeping very sore, There came Lord Leicester's spirit and It scratched upon the door, Singing "Backward antl hirward anil siiieways may you pass, But I will walk beside you till you face the looking-glass. The cruel looking-glass that will never show a lass. As harii and unforgiving or as wiekeil as \'ou was!" ^(ccn Hess tsas Ifarrv's i/aw^/ilcr. all! Now kiss your partners The Queen was in her chamber, her sins were on her head. She looked the spirits up and down and statelily she said: — "Backward and forward and sideways though I've been. Yet I am Harry's tlaughter and I am England's Queen!" And she faced the looking-glass (and whatever else there was) And she saw her liay was over antl she saw her beauty pass In the cruel looking-glass, that can always hurt a lass More hard than any ghost there is or any man there was! THE QUEEN'S MEN VTALOUR and Innocence Have latterly gone hence To certain death by certain shame attended. INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 Envy — ah! even to tears! — The t'ortime of their years Which, though so few, yet so divinelv cnjeii. &77 Scarce hail they hfteil up Life's full and fierv cup. Than they had set it down untouched hefore them. Before their day arose They heckoneil it to close- Close in confusion anil "er Gow a>,J a G.rohxpk iearing the Prince's body ^""Zr- («-'^g'--Pat-cel) Gowa„dag.ar- x-fsSc^-H-S:--— """^"o i^^'^"^ '"''' ■' ^'"-- S"-Ke they should wl!^:! sS™:':^;'"^ ^-^t- Vou unsanctioned fool ^e.^i^e:^ii^^^-'-^'*'---^-^^^ we founcVi" and'rhe naulv I'^'t T'^T '" '^» ■--'' -»>- ing beneath its foot ndt 'caused i s^'l IT r '""" "^^' ™P- the wall for the King to see ' '"-'' ""* ""^^^ wKthJma^'"^^- T''^ King to .see- Why should he? r>HG RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSK (Jow. That is your talc. Swerve Crom it bv so much as the breadth of my dagger and here's your instant rewanl. ■i ou heard not, saw not, and by the Horns of ninefold-cuck- olded Jupiter you thought not nor dreameil not anything more or other! The King. Nincfold-cucliolded Jupiter. That's a rare oath! Shall we look closer!' Kerdinaxd. Not yet, mv Lord' (I cannot hear him breathe.) (Jardexer. The North Park wall? It was so. Pluck- ing nectarines. It shall be. But how shall I say if anv ask why our Lady the Queen Gow {sttiis him). Thus! Hie after the Prince and tell hnrf y'are the first fruits of his nectarine tree. Hleed there behind the laurels. The Ki.vG. Why did Gow buffet the clown? What said he? I'll go look. ■■'eroina.vd {above). .Save yourself! It is the King! Knier the Kim, and FERDiNAxn In Gow Gow. God .save you! This was the Prince! The Kino. The Prince! Not a dead branch? ({/«. covers the face.) My flesh and blood! .My son! my .son! my son! Ferdinand (/o Gow). I had fcarcil .something of this And that fool yonder? Gow. Dead, or as good. He cannot speak. Ferdinand. Better so. ({/;;- INCLUSIV!. EDITION. 188S-1918 687 The Kinu. "Loosed to adventure early!" Teil ti.e talc ^l;^no.^soni.edH-::;:^fcl-:t- (iod kn„ws! . . Wh"! (-ow? ""^ ^'"" '" "■>■ ^■'"'^" (iow. Surely, Gud knows! Thf. fur it. Kim,. rnlr'h "'"^- ?"' ' ''"^- '^''" 'l^- better * rue, nc s past lovrm^ a j we,nu,st tell ouryueen. What : o.iVat'ilK'dVvV.nd " Sh"; grieve for hini. \ot as I sh-,ll I.' . r . ■ ■^"'^ " vouth Thev w,re L !"''•'"• ''^^'^'I'"--'"'!. Init as youth for •, '"'^.^ "'<-rc much of the same am Pl-ivm,, f day? un uod. W hen was yester- F,= KO,^.^o. Co,ne in! Con.e in. ,„y Lc.rd. "fit. I'll tWIlo dew falling. The Kin.;. He'll take no harn <-'ntly. . . He's all his mother's now and none of mine - Her very (ace on the bride-pillow. Yet I tritke.i h.r But that was later-and sh^- never .^e.ss '"' ''^'^■ [thl ''""'' '"^ ^'""^J mueh--he^s too young - 100 hardly tor such shps as youth ,nay fall in. ^ ^ nut 1 II entreat that Throne. (Prays by the body.) pres him (,H« RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Gow. The Heavens hciUI un still. Karth opens not and this ilcw's mere water. What shall a man think of it all? {To Gardkner.) Not ileail yet, sirrah? I hade you follow the Prince, ■^•.spatch! Gardener. Some kind soul pluck out the dagger. Why did you slay me? I'd done no wroni;. I'd ha' kept it secret till my dying day. But not now not now! I'm ilying. The Prince fell from the Queen's chamber window. I saw it in the nut-alley. He was Keruixand. But what made you in the nut-allev at that Gardener. No wrong. No more than another man's wife. Jocista of the sriil-riKim. She' 1 eye, Those nails and wed" :).r >. ' ^ • .jr and lead. And the very gerh of : i. y-st ■: ,i ligluning loosed. Yesterday 'gainst some King. The King. I have pursued with prayers where my heart warns me My soul shall overtake — Enter Ike Queen INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 ,s, ^ThkK.v.. I...kn.,„ Wait nil /tdl,.u.U.arcst. . . , Lixisul to ailvtntiirL- larlv" • • • ' g" late. (l)U's.) I-'- it i-t.ii,a,Ki. n"w hIc^ "::; :r I'-V'-i -'- t-w ?J"-n sl,„.,M kill (;„^ ana nil's .;• r''V'"'-' '''^" '''■ Judgment. . . s. " i ' I ■• '" .^^^ ""» ••''>'^- "• 'iK' Im for the r,M>l. '•^■■■'iinar.cl, the wind's easterlv. ^^.J^-;--... Myhotseisatthegate. G.hI spee,, ,„u. m.^i;:^j'',t.!.:ti;;::::^T ■'">-- '^vH-as on Scm,r Kerainana, I er v .1 ,, , t ^'^ ->•'",' ''^■^'■- ^i'n'-'^S cl-th. Senor l.erai'naml-ljthj'';;.,'^;^' -"""">■• ■'•" the THE WI.SHIVG-C.APS LIFF.'.S all gettini; ami giving, 've only my.sdf to give. ' JVhatshalliaoforalivW' 1 ve only one life to live End it.^ I'll not find another. Spend It !> But how shall J best' W the wise plan is to live like a man A..d Luek may lo„k after the rest' ^argesse! Largesse, Fortune! l^iye or hold at your will. If I ve no care for l.'ortune Fortune must follow me still. Coo RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSK Bad Luck, she is never a lady But the commonest wench on the street. Shuffling, shabby and shady, Shameless to pass or meet. Walk with her once— it's a weakness! Talk to her twice — it's a crime! Thrust her away when she gives you "goml day' And the besom won't board you next time. Largesse! Largesse, Fortune! What is Your Ladyship's mood? If I've no care for Fortune, My F'ortune is bound to be good! Good Luck she is never a lady But the cursedest quean alive! Tricksey, wincing and jady, Kittle to lead or drive. Greet her — she's hailing a stranger! Meet her — she's busking to leave. Let her alone for a shrew to the bone. And the hussy comes plucking your sleeve! Largesse! Largesse, Fortune! I'll neither follow nor flee. If I don't run after Fortune Fortune must run after me! "BY THE HOOF OF THE WILD GO.AT' t> Y THE Hoof of the Wild Goat uptossed From the clifT where she lay in the Sun Fell the Stone To the Tarn where the daylight is lost, So she fell from the light of the Sun And alone! ilav" INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 Now the /all was ordained from the first VV.th the Goat and the Cliff and the Tarn, But the Stone Knows only her life is accursed As she sinks from the light of the Sun And alone I Oh Thou Who has buiided the World, Oh Thou Who has lighted the Sun, Oh Thou Who has darkened the Tarn Judge Thou The sin of the Stone that was hurled By the goat from the light of the Sun, As she smks m the mire of the Tarn, Even now— even now— even now! 691 \T' SONG OF THE RED WAR-BOAT Ca. d. 683) §HOVE off from the wharf-edge ! Steady ! Watch for a smooth! Give wav! If she feels the lop already She'll stand on her head in the bay. It's ebb— it's dusk— it's blowing The shoals are a mile of white. But (snatch her along!) we're going To find our master to-night. For we hold that in all disaster Of shipwreck, storm, or sword, // Man must stand by his Master f^hen once he has pledged his word. 69* RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Raging seas have we rowed in But we seldom saw them thus. Our master is angry with Odin — Odin is angry with us! Heavy odds have we taken, But never before such odds. The Gods know they are forsaken, We must risk the wrath of the Gods! Over the crest she flies from. Into its hollow she drops. Cringes and clears her eyes from The wind-torn breaker-tops, Ere out on the shrieking shoulder Of a hill-high surge she drives. Meet her! Meet her and hold her! Pull for your scoundrel lives! The thunders bellow and clamour The harm that they mean to do! There goes Thor's own Hammer Cracking the dark in two! Close! But the blow has missed her, Here comes the wind of the blow! Row or the squall '11 twist her Broadside on to it! — Row ! Heark 'ee, Thor of the Thunder! We are not here for a jest — For wager, warfare, or plunder. Or to put your power to test. This work is none of our wishing — We would house at home if we might— But our master is wrecked out fishing. We go to find him to-night. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 For we hold that in all disaster- 's the Gods Themselves have said- ^Ma„ must standby his Master nil one of the two is dead. That is our wav of thinking Now you can do as vou will; And hold her head to it still Bale her and keep her moving, Or she 11 break her back in the trough. V\ho sa>d the weather's improving. Or the swells are taking off? Sodden, and chafed and aching, Oone in the loins and knees- No matter-the day is breaking. And there s far less weight to tL seas! Up mast, and finish baling— In oars, and out with the mcad- The rest will be two-reef sailing. . Ihat was anight indeed! But we hold that in all disaster (And faith, we have found it true ') If only you stand by your Master, I he (jods will stand by you ! 693 MINE SWEEPERS I 9 I 4-1 I^"^ n!)lhrH''' ^[^'''"J-'he young flood making Jumbled and short and steep— ^ Black in the hollows and bright where it's breaking- 694 RUDVARD KIPLING S VERSE Awkward water to sweep. "Mines reported in the fairway, "Warn all traffic and detain. '"Sent up Unity, Claribel, Assyrian, Stormcock, and Golden Gain." Noon off the Foreland — the first ebb making Lumpy and strong in the bight. Boom after boom, and the golf-hut shaking And the jackdaws wild with fright! "Mines located in the fairway, "Boats now working up th|e chain, "Sweepers— t/n;Vy, Claribel, Assyrian, Stormcock, and Golden Gain." Dusk off the Foreland — the last light going And the traffic crowding through, And fi.ve damned trawlers with their syreens blowing Heading the whole review ! "Sweep completed in the fairway. "No more mines remain. " 'Sent back Unity, Claribel, Assyrian, Stormcock, and Golden Gain." MORNING SONG IN THE JUNGLE QNE moment past our bodies cast No shadow on the plain; Now clear and black they stride our track. And we run home again. In morning hush, each rock and bush Stands hard, and high, and raw: Then give the Call: "Good rest to all That keep the Jungle Law ! " INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 NW horn and pelt our peoples melf In covert to abide; Now, crouched and still, to cave and hill Our Jungle Barons glide Now stark and plain, Man's oxen strain, That draw the new-yoked plough ■ M "'"Tl- ""'' '^'''"^' the dawn s red Above the lit ta/ao.' Behind the breathing grass • And creaking through the young bamboo The warning whispers pass. With rii't-''""^"' '^' *°°''^ '^^ '«nge With blinking eyes we scan; ^ Uh.Ie down the skies the wild duck cries: //le Day— fie Day to Man !" The dew is dried that drenched our hide Or washed about our way And where we drank, the puddled bank Is crisping into clay. Of stretched or hooded claw; Then hear the Call: " Good nsl to all That keep the Jungle Law t" (^?, BLUE ROSES J^OSES red and roses white Plucked I for my love's delight. She would none of all my posiesl Bade me gather her blue roses. ' Pond or lake. 696 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Half the world I wandered through, Seeking where such flowers grew Half the world unto my quest Answered me with laugh and jest. Home I came at wintertide But my silly love had died Seeking with her latest bri ;ith Roses from the arms of Death. It may be beyond the grave She shall find what she would have. Mine was but an idle quest — Roses white and red are best! A RIPPLE SONG QNCE a ripple came to land In the golden sunset burning- Lapped against a maiden's hand, By the ford returning. Dainty foot and gentle breast — Here, across, he glad and rest. "Maiden, taail," the ripple sailli; "ffait awhile, for I am Death .'" "Where my lover calls I go — Shame it were to treat him coldly— 'Twas a fish that circled so, Turning over boldly." Dainty foot and tender heart. Wait the loaded ferry-cart, "Wait, ah, wait i" the ripple saith; "Maiden, wail, for I am Death .'" INCLUSIVE EDITION. 188S-1918 "When my lovtr calls I haste— name Disdain was never wedded!" Kipple-npple round her waist, »-lear the current eddied Foolhh heart and fail/, ful hanj, Ultkjeet that touched ,w laud, tar away the ripple sped. Ripple— ripple running red! 697 BUTTERFLIES EYES aloft over dangerous places, An I • 1 ''*'■'" '^°"°"' '''^ butterflies, Slash with '""" °^u"'^'^ "P^"™'=d faces. Slash with a net at the empty skies. So it goes they fall amid brambles. And stmg their toes on the nettle-mps, Ihey wipe theower over me S" have I powir over thLse, Because I wrought them for thy sake, And breathed in them mine agonies 701 Small mirth was in the making-now 1 lift the cloth that cloaks the cliy And, wearied, at thy feet I lay My wares, ere I go 'forth to sell The long bazar will praise, but thou- Heart of my heart-have I done well' MOTHKR O- MINE JF I were hanged on the highest hill, Mother 0 mine, 0 mother 0' mine ' I know whose love would follow me stil Mother 0 mine, O mother 0' mine ' He 7"''. 'Irowned in the deepest sea. Mother 0 mine, 0 mother o' mine ' I know whose tears would come down to me, Mother 0 mine, O mother o' mine ! in were damned of body and soul i^ir ,^ P"y"' *°"''l "">ke me whole Mother 0 mine, 0 mother 0' mine ' TO* RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE THL ONLY SON CHK dropped the l>ar, she shot the holt, she fed the tin anew, I'lir she heard a whimper under the sill and a k(reat itrev paw eame through. I'he Irish tianie comforted the hut and shone on the r(Mit- bcam, And the Only Son lay down again and dreamed that he tlreametl a dream. The last ash fell from the withered log with the click of a fall- ing spark. And the Only Son wok up again, and called across the dark;-- "Now was I born of womankind and laid in a mother's breast ? I'or I have dreamed of a shaggy hide whereon I went to fst. .And was I born of womankind and laid on a father's arm? For I have dreamed of clashing teeth that guariled me from harm. And was I born an Only Son ami did I play alone? Kor I have dreamed of comrades twain that bit me to the bone. .And did I break the barley-cake and steep it in the tyre? I'or [ have dreamed of a youngling kid new-riven from the byre. Kor I have dreamed of a midnight sky and a midnight call to blood .And red-mouthed shailows racing by, that thrust me from my food. "Pis an hour yet and an hour yet to the rising of the moon. But I can see the black roof-tree as plain as it were noon. 'Tis a league and a league to the Len.i Kails where the troop- ing blackbuck go; But I can hear the little fawn that bleats behind the doc. INCLUSIVK EDITION. 1885 1918 70, •Ti, , league a„.i a |,agu, „, „,, ,,.„, ,;„„, ^^ _ and the upland mctt, ' B"t I can .null rh. wet dawn-w.nd rhar wak., ,l,c ,,.„,,„„,, Unbar tl . . , ., I „,a „,„ |,|^, , , If tho«: are wolvc-s that wait outside or my ol!! ^^ ^^ , •• all tc MowGi.rs sovc; against pkopi.k I niU. let lcx>se against you the fleet-f™„ed vines- I wHI call m the Jungle to stamp out vourhne": I he rix)fs shall fade before it, The house-beams shall fall' And the Kare/a,' the bitter Kmy/,. Shall cover it all! In the gates of these your councils mv people shall sing '''.^^^--"f these your garners the Bat-Volk si I "l!;,,. And the snake shall be your watchman, ^' By a hearthstone unswept: Shall fruit where ye slept! Bv nl'll"rr 7 '''■'''"' >'^ ■■''^''" *•«" them and guess- 7'"' ^'^fo'-e the moon-rise, I will send for my ces^s" And the wolfshall be your herdsman By a landmark removed, Shall Seed where ye loved ! 'A will! melon. 704 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE I will reap your fields before you at the hands of a host; Ye shall glean behind my reapers for the bread that is lost; And the deer shall be your oxen On a headland untiiled, For the Kan/a, the bitter Karela, Shall leaf where ye build! I have untied against you the club-footed vines — I have sent in the Jungle to swamp out your lines! The trees — the trees are on you! The house-beams shall fall. And the Karela, the bitter Karela, Shall cover you all! ROMULUS AND REMUS QH, LITTLE did the Wolf-Child care- When first he planned his home, What city should arise and bear The weight and state of Rome. A shiftless, westward-wandering tramp, Checked by the Tiber flood, He reared a wall around his camp Of uninspired mud. But when his brother leaped the Wall And mocked its height and make. He guessed the future of it all And slew him for its sake. Swift was the blow — swift as the thought Which showed him in that hour How unbelief may bring to naught The early steps of Power. 5t; is lost; INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 Forsecing Time's imperilled hopes Of Glory, Grace, and Love- All singers, Ca?sars, artists, Popes- Would fail if Remus throve, He sent his brother to the Gods, And, when the fit was o'er, Went ^n collecting turves and clods To build the Wall once more! 70S CHAPTER HEADINGS THE JUNGLE BOOKS jSJOVV Chil the Kite brings home the night J hat Mang the Bat sets free— Ihe herds are shut in byre and hut Fo"- loosed till dawn are we. This is the hour of pride and power, Talon and tush and claw. Oh hear the calll-Good hunting all That keep the Jungle Law! Mowgli's Brothers. "'' ''"falo'iyl'dV"^ °^ ''" ^'"''''^'^ ^'^ ''"'"' "^- ""^ '^"^- '''' 'tt^l^':^:'^t '-" '"'' >°- - '''^ '-y-'--^'^ ^' "''before.'"'' "°* '" '"*"""" "'• ^^'^ '^"^'^ '' ''" ^^"^""^ Oppress m,t^the^cubs of the stranger, but hail them as Sister m 706 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE ••There is none like to me!" says the Cub in the pride of his earliest kill; But the Jungle is large and the Cub he is small. Let him think and be still. Kaa's Hunting. The stream is shrunk — the pool is dry. And we be comrades, thou and I; With fevered jowl and dusty flank Each jostling each along the bank; And, by one drouthy fear made still, Foregoing thought of quest or kill. Now 'neath his dam the fawn may sec, The lean Pack-wolf as cowed as he. And the tall buck, unflinching, note The fangs that tore his father's throat. The pools are shrunk— the streams are dry. And vie be playmates^ thou and I, Till yonder cloud— Good Hunting!— loose The rain that breaks or:- IVater Truce. How Fear Came. What of the hunting, hunter bold? Brother, the watch was long and cold. What of the quarry ye went to kill? Brother, he crops in the jungle still. Where is the power that made your pride? Brother, it ebbs from my flank and side. Where is the haste that ye hurry by? Brother, I go to my lair to die! "Tiger-Tiger!" Veil them, cover them, wall them round Blossom, and creeper, and weed — Let us forget the sight and the sound, The smell and the touch of the breed! INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 707 Fat black ash by the altar-stone Here is the white-foot rain, And the bhnd walls crumble, unknown, o'erthrnwn And none shall inhabit again I "rn'-ow „, Letting in i/„. Jiai^if^ "'""<^t::=ttim::"^" -■" •'- <■" < T/if King's .Inkus. for the risk and the riot of night' for the sleep at the lair-mouth by day' "is met, and we go to the fight. ' Bay! O bay! Red Dog. ^^i fl ■ 708 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Man goes to Man! He is weeping in the Jungle: He that was our Brother sorrows sore! Man goes to Man! (Oh, we loved him in the Jungle!) To the Man-Trail where we may not follow more. The Spring Running. At the hole where he went in Red-Eye called to Wrinkle-Skin. Hear what little Red-Eye saith: "Nag, come up and dance with death!" Eye to eye and head to head, {Keep the measure. Nag.) This shall end when one is dead; i^t thy pleasure, Nag.) Turn for turn and twist for twist — (Run and hide thee. Nag.) Hah! The hooded Death has missed! {IVoe betide thee. Nag .') " Rikki-Tikki-Tavi." Ohlliush thee, my baby, the night is behind us. And black are the waters that sparkled so green. The moon, o'er the combers, looks downward to find us At rest in the hollows that rustle between. Where billow meets billow, then soft be thy pillow; .Ah, weary wee flippcrling, curl at thy ease! The storm shall not wake thee, nor shark overtake thee. Asleep in the arms of the slow-swinging seas. The White Seal. You mustn't swim till you're six weeks old, Or your head will be sunk by your heels; And summer gales and Killer Whales Are bad for baby seals. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 709 Are bad for babv stals, dear rat. As bad as bad' can be; But splash and grow strong, And you can't be wrong, Child of the Open Sea! T/ie mite Seal. I will remember what I was, I am sick of rope and chain- I wil^^o out to my own kind, and the wood-folk fn "heir I will go out until the day, until the morning break 1 .1.1 „„., „, b„ ,,„„^ „,, J,.„'„i'„J'„™';5^_, Toomm of the Elephants. The People^f rhe Eastern Ice. they are melting like the They b^eg for coffee and sugar; they go where the white men Sy'^sTlfrLt ''■"" '^ ''^^■' "^^■>' '^■'-'^" ^" «-' -J fight; ' tt:^ '" ' • '"^'"^'-^-"^ "->■ -" 'heir sLls The P-Pl^^"f the Southern U,, they trade with the whaler's """^'^ Ind"i?''''^ ■"•■■">■ "'•'""^' ''"^ "^- '-«'' "e torn But the People of the Elder Ice, beyond the white man's ""'"' Tatr^f the Mt !°' ''' ""'"''''-"' ^'^ "^^^ are the ^uifiiem. 7IO RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE When ye say to Tabaqiii, "My Brother!" when ye call the Hyena to meat, Ve may cry the Full Truce with Jaeala— the Belly that nins on four feet. The Uiiiierlakers. The night we felt the earth would move We stole and plucked him by the hand, Because we loved him with the love That knows but cannot understand. And when the roaring hillside broke, .And all our world fell down in rain. We saved him, we the Little Folk; But lo! he does not come again! Mourn now, we saved him for the sake Of such poor love as wild ones ma\ . Mourn ye! Our brother will not wake, And his own kind drive us away! The Miracle of Puruu Rha^al. THE EGG-SHELL TPHE wind took off with the sunset — The fog came up with the tide. When the Witch of the North took an Egg-shell With a little Blue Devil inside. "Sink," she said, "or swim," she said, " It's all you will get from me. .And that is the finish of him!" she said. And the Egg-shell went to sea. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 188&-1918 The wind Cell dead with the midnight- I he fog shut down like a sheet, FeelTngXSfoVS-'^^^'^^^'-^^^-'^^'' And he let the Whitehead go. The wind got up with the morning- rhe fog blew off with the rain, When the Witch of the North saw the PW,hell ■}nd the httle B.'ue Devil again. '^■^S-^'"^'' Did vou swim?" she said "n:,i, ■ i ^.. , And the little Blue DeXplie?i '"" ^""- ''" '''"' l:or myself I swam, hut I think," he said I here s somebody sinking outside." 7'i "THE TR.ADE' ' 9 1 4 - 1 9 I 8 THEY bear, in place of classic names, Letters and numbers on their skin. 1 ht^y play th.ir grisly blindfold games In little boxes made of tin. .Sometimes they stalk the Zeppelin, Sometimes they learn where mines are laid Ur where the Baltic ice is thin. That is the custom of '-The Trade." Few prize-courts sit upon their claims. Ihey seldom tow their targets in. 1 hey follow certain secret aims Down under, far from strife or din 7ia RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE When they are ready to begin No flag is flown, no fuss is made More than the shearing of a pin. That is the custom of "The Trade." The Scout's quadruple funnel flames A mark from Sweden to the Swin, The Cruiser's thundrous screw proclaims Her comings out and goings in: But only whifl^s of paraflin Or creamy rings that fizz and fade Show where the one-eyed Death has been. That is the custom of "The Trade. " Their feats, their fortunes and their fames Are hidden from their nearest kin; No eager public backs or blames. No journal prints the yarns they spin (The Censor would not let it in!) When they return from run or raid. Unheard they work, unseen they win. That is the custom of "The Trade." THE KING'S TASK 1 9 o i A FTER the sack of the City when Rome was sunk to a name In the years that the lights were darkened, or ever St. Wilfrid came Low on the borders of Britain (the ancient poets sing) Between the Cliff and the Forest there ruled a Saxon King. Stubborn all were his people from cottar to overlord — Not to be cowed by the cudgel, scarce to be schooled by the sword; -_k- INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 7,3 """"■1,™!- •' °' """'" '"' "" "I' •»" *• ".I. .n.l '"" "r ™ t '"'""' ■"■""'- ""' "" '" " .1- H..,- ZiwUzXt as ;:' r t ','".""■'' ■■' «"» 7'4 RUDYARD KIPI-1N(;S VERSK Wnlf-wisc feigning; and flyiiij;, anil wolf-wise snatchinij bin man. Wrath tor their spears iinrcaily, their levies new to the blades — Shame for the helpless sieges and the scornful amhusi-ades. At hearth and tavern and market, wherever the ' ile waJ told, Shame and wrath had the Saxonshecauseof their hoasrsof old. .And some would drink and deny it, and some would pray and atone; But the most part, after their anger, avoucheil that the sin was their own. Wherefore, girding together, up to the Witan they came, .■\nd as they had shouldered their Inicklers so did they shoul- der their blame Kor that was the wont of the Saxons {the ancient poets sing), .And first they spoke in the Witan and then they spoke to the King: " Kdward King of the Saxons, thou knowest from sire to son, "One is the King and his People — in gain and ongain one. "Count we the gain together. With doubtings and spread dismays "We have broken a foolish people — but after many days. "Count we the loss together. NVarlocks hampered our arms "We were tricked as by magic, we were turned as by charms. "We went down to the battle ami the road was plain to keep " But our angry eyes were holdcn, and we struck as they strike in sleep — "Men new shaken from slumber, sweating, with eyes a-stare "Little blows and uncertain dealt on the useless air. ".Also a vision betrayed us and a lying tale made bold "That we looked to hold what we had not and to have what we did not hold: "That a shield should give us shelter — that a sword should give us jwwer — "A shield snatched up at a venture and a hilt scarce handled an hour: INCLUSIVE EDITION. 188&-191H 7,, •That^l^rich in the open, we should be strong in the ■■'"' ™:t^/C "" "' • -"-« '- '"« -^'V "•.. we •Th., w„ the work of wizard,, but not with our foe they "'" TdTrr' " "*'' ""■'"• ""'' '"^'^ -">" »- Sloth "Our pride^ «,„ before the battle: our .sloth er. we lifted " ^"' mtre"/''' '"=''" "^ ""= P^-'-'-^ "' "^^ '-" ^ide, in the ;; Waiting only the war-game, the heat „f th. strife to rise As the^^^e fume, round Oxeney when the rotting'^ri-bed """ let^ngVbUr'^^' "' ''" fever-c,ansed by the Somethmg leaner of body-something keener of nxxxl And tISe men new.freed from the levifs return to thrfitlds "Matching a humlred battles cotnr ..• 1 1 l "And they talk loud in the t^mn' , . '"^ .'^^"•^■ gods are. " '"« t'^'^P ■' ^^^ .le ancient war- "Theyjhumb and mock and bel, le the holy harness of "They >s^ at the sacred chariots, the rol,.s and the gilded "■'■'"^n^::f:^'i;i;r "'"' '-'''-' ^'^y •-- ■- '^- I he men^grown old in the war-game, hither and thither they "■'"' ch^ger '"'''" "'*'"'''" ^'" '"" ""'' '''"" "f ■'"'^ willTri^;' ^"^ ^"•"' "' ^'^ ''-''"' "•= ''""- -' -hat it "Therefore our Kin, must teach us. That is thy task, O 716 RUDYARD KIPLING S VKRSE l'OSElIX)N'S I,A\V ■II/HEN the robust and Brass-lH>iirul Man cDinmissioned first fi)r sea His fragile raft, PosciJon laughed, ami "Mariner," said he, "Behold, a Law immutable I lay on thee and thine. That never shall ye act or tell a falsehcHul at my shrine. "Let Zeus adjudge your landward kin whose votive nieal an I salt At easy-cheated altars win oblivion for the fault. But you the unhoixiwinked wave shall test — the immtiliare gulf condemn — Except ye owe the I'atcs a jest, be slow to jest with them. "Ve shall not clear by Greckly speech, nor cozen from your path The twinkling shoal, the leeward beach, or Hadria's white- lipped wrath; Nor tempt with painted cloth for wooil my fraud-avenging hosts; Nor make at all, or all make good, your bulwarks and your boasts. "Now and henceforward serve unshod, through wet and wakeful shifts, A present and oppressive God, but take, to aid, my gifts — The wide and windward-opening eye, the large and lavish hand. The soul that cannot tell a lie— except upon the land!" In dromond and in catafract— wet, wakeful, windward- eyed — He kept Poseidon's Law intact (his ship and freight beside). INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 7,7 ""• " onVc mtr ' ""■- ''"""""''■' •"■'''• "-c blr.„,c hcach.i Splc.n.lacu.usly ^..laci.H.s n,!!.,, ,hc Bra,.,..«u„a Man ' I- ' ■' I tt.^- hail.1, the M that sailci. ar. chungal hcv.,„.l '^.t,;„ , LuWaml Hrass-h„uml Man he i, not changed at all! I-n, >;-t returned, fron, Hhormio's Fleet, from Javan an.I ! I ■ strongly occupies the scat almiit the tavern fire THE LOW!- S ;■()!■■;• BOAT {./■■■■'■■■„, I , „T,,'') 1 '; I .1. - I :' JN LO\VEST(j|.T ■,!>,,,- ,^,,,:,; Mark well wh; I Andshe^v^slnnltfor.),, Ik .ring trade. But she has gone a-rovin'. a-rovin', a-rovin' Ihe Lord knows where! They gave her Government coal to burn. Anday. l..g„natl,owandstcrn, And sent her out a-rovin', etc. Her skipper was mate of a bucko ship Which always killed one man per trip, so he IS used to rovin', etc. 7iR RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Her mate was skipper of a chapel in Wales, And so he fights in topper and tails— Religi-ous tho' rovin', etc. Her engineer is fifty-eight, So he's prepared to meet his fate. Which ain't unlikely rovin', etc. Her leading-stoker's seventeen. So he don't know what the Judgments mean. Unless he cops 'em rovin', etc. Her cook was chef in the Lost Dogs' Home, Mark well what I do say! And I'm sorry for Fritz when they all come A-rovin', a-rovin', a-roarin' and a-rovin'. Round the North Sea rovin'. The Lord knows where! A TRUTHFUL SONG pHE Bricklayer: .''c!l this tale, which is strictly true. Just by way of convincing you How very little, since things were made. Things have altered in the building trade. A year ago, come the middle of March, We was building flats near the Marble Arch, When a thin young man with coal-black hair Came up to watch us working there. Now there wasn't a trick in brick or ctone Which this young man hadn't seen or known; Nor there wasn't a tool from trowel to maul But this young man could use 'em all! air wn; ul INCLUSIVE EDITION, 188S-1918 Then up and sjx,ke the plumbyers bold, Wh,ch was laying the pipes for the hot and cold S nee you w>th us have made so free, Will you kmdly say what your name might be?" The young man kindly answered them- It might be Lot or Methusalem Or It might be Moses (a man I hate) Whereas it is Pharaoh surnamed the Great. "i our glazing is new and your plumbing's stranee But otherwise I perceive no change- ^ And in less than a month if you do as I bid 1 d learn you to build me a Pyramid!" The Sailok: I tell Ml tale, which is stricter true Just by my of convincing you How very little, since things was w«. rhtngs have altered in the shipw.irhl'' trade. In Blackwall Basin yesterday A China barque re-fitting lay; VUen a fat old man with snow-white hair (-ame up to watch us working there. BuTthe'l""""'' "" "J""' ^^''^ '^^ "gS^rs knew But the old man made it-and better too- .Nor there wasn't a sheet, or a lift, or a brkc, But the old man knew its lead and place. Then up and spoke the caulkyers bold, Which was packing the pump in the afterhold- bince you with us have made so free "ill you kindly tell what your name might be'" 719 it 720 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE The old man kindly answered them: "It might be Japheth, it might be Shem, Or it might be Ham (though his skin was dark), Whereas it is Noah, commanding the Ark. "Your wheel is new and your pumps are strange, But otherwise I perceive no change; And in less than a week, if she did not ground, I'd sail this hooker the wide world round!" Both: IVe tell these tales, whieh are strictest true. Just by way of convincing you How very little, since things was made, Anything alters in any one's trade .' A SMrGC!.ER'.S SONG IF YOl' />-'ke at midnight, 111. d hear a horse's feet. Don't go drawing back the blind, or looking in the street, Them that ask no questions isn't told a lie. Watch the wall, my darling, i/hile the (ientlcmen go by! Kive and twenty ponies. Trotting through the dark — Brandy for the Parson, 'Baccy for the Clerk; Laces for a lady, letters for a spy. And watch the wall, my darling, while the Gentlemen go by! Running round the woodlump if you chance to find Little barrels, roped and tarred, all full of brandy-wine. Don't you shout to come and look, nor use 'em for your play. Put the brishwood back again— and they'll be gone next day! INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 7,, If you see the stabl.-Uoor setting open wide- f you see a t,red horse lying do'wn inside ' If your mother mends a coat cut about a^d tore- If the hnmg s wet and warm-don't you nsk'nT^ore! &be";:"f!^':^^r^r:;;d'"^^^;^T t^ -■'< -'^' Don-t you tell where no one is, nor yet where no one's been- 7>«..V^her, and Py„^^.V here! ti'^^'nllw^:,;:-!;-,,,^^, ney don't fret to follow when the Gentlemen go by! If you do as youVe been told, 'likelv there's a chanc-,- vvitn a cap of \ alencicnnes, and a velvet hood - A present r<,m t e Gentlen,en, along o' being good! I'lveand twenty ponies, B 6 "• TrottMig through the dark- Brandy for the Parson, 'Baccy for the Clcr'< rhem that asks no questions isn't told a lie- Watch the wall, my darling, wh.lc the Gentlemen go by! KING HEXRY VU AXD THF, SHIPWRIGHTS (.»• I). 1487) H^'^g'^J' ™^ ''■"S i" l-'ngland, from London town ,. '"'~tin"^™"""'"^""^--^^^-'-HeofSuth.. '%m 712 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE 1 ' For there lay the Mary nj the Tower, his ship of war so strong. And he would discover, certaynely, if his shipwrights did him wrong. He told not none of his setting forth, nor yet where he woiiKI go, (But only my I^rd of Arundel) and meanly did he show, In an old jerkin and patched hose that no man might him mark. With his frieze hood and cloak above, he looked like any clerk. He was at Hamuli on the Hoke about the hour of the tide, And saw the Mary haled into dock, the winter to abide. With all her tackle and habilaments which are the King his own; But then ran on his false shipwrights and stripped her to the bone. They heaved the main-mast overboard, that was of a trusty tree, .And they wrote down it was .spent anil lost by force of weather at sea. But they sawen it into planks and strakes as far as it might go. To makcn beds for their own wives and little children also. There was a knave called Slingawai, he crope beneath the deck, Crying: "Good felawes, come and see! The ship is nigh a wreck ! For the storm that t(K)k our tall miiin-mast, it blew so tierce and fell, .■Mack! it hath taken the kettles and pans, and this brass pott as well!" With that he set the pott on his head and hied him up the hatch, While all the shipwrights ran below to find what they might snatch; 'im^M^^mik ^^^ INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 7,, "I have taken plank and rope and nail, with„„r the king his After the custom of Portesmouth, but I will not .uffcr a thief "'''' 'vr:^:i:x(-''''''"''"- ••■'■''-■-~ in "Gramercy, yeoman!" said our King. "Thy council liketh And he Hied a whistle out of his neck and whistled whistles InThT", ;">■ 'r'"^^™"'!^' P"'^'"S across the down ton'to™"'^' ''''"''"'' B-g- "of merry Sut;:;:;p. '"''' tltmir '''• •'''^'*^''^'''^' "''• "''•' '>"•■ ><«"« i" '"'' 'TrmlndT '™'"'' '''^ ^---^'-'^ --'''^ -^i-t- "" "^i/m^;i':;:::::r^ "^^'^•" -'^^ ^^^ '^'"^' "^^ **"' "'yile,."^ ^"'"' "'^-^^ ''"'' ""'-^ ones-felawes, get you When they had beaten Slingawai, out of his own lips Our K,„g ,p ^,,j Brygandyn,. to be Clerk of a llh , ships '"::Z tri" ''' ''"'' - — "^-^■■» "-'-" han^ds '" ^^rJinl^in^L!^^^^ "^ ^-^^ '-''"'■^ 724 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE GnJ speed the Mary of the Tnwcr, the Sovcriign, and Grace Dieii, The Sweepstakes and the Marv I'nrtunc, and the Henry of Bristol loo ! All tall ships that sail on the sea, or in our harbours stand. That they may keep measure with Harry our King and peace in Kuj^eland ! THE WET LITANY AJ^HEN the water's countenance Blurrs 'twixt glance and second glance; Then our tattered smokes forerun Ashen 'neath a silvered sun; When the curtain of the haze Shuts upon our helpless ways — Hear the Channel Kleet at sea: Libera nos Domine ! When the engines' bated pulse Scarcely thrills the nosing hulls; When the wash along the side Sounds, a-sudden, magnified; When the intolerable blast Marks each blindfuKI miniitf passed; When the fog-buoy's squattering flight Guides us through the haggard night; When the warning bugle blows; When the lettered dcmrways close; When our brittle townships press. Impotent, on emptiness; INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 When the unseen leadsmen lean Questioning a deep unseen; When their lessened count they tell To a bridge invisible; When the hid and perilous Cliffs return our cry to us; When the treble thickness spread Swallows up our next-ahead; VVheii her siren's frightened whine Shows her sheering out of line; When— her passage undisccrncd— We must turn where she has turneil, Hear the Channel Fleet at sea: Libera nos Domine ! 725 THE BALLAD OF MINEPIT SHAW y^BOUT the time that taverns shut And men can buy no beer, Two lads went up to the keepers' hut To steal Lord Pclham's deer. Night and the liquor was in their heads- They laughed and talkeil no bounds, nil they waked the keepers on their beds And the kcLpurs loosed the hounds. They had killed a hart, they had kille.l a hind, Ready tu tarry away. When they heard a whimper down tile wind And they heard a bloodhoimil haw ■'TW^ m^mm- 726 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE They took and ran across the fern. Their crossbows in their hand, Till they met a man with a green lantern That called and bade 'em stand. "What are ye doing, O Flesh and Blood, And what's your foolish will. That you must break into Minepit Wotxl And wake the Folk of the Hill?" "Oh, we've broke into Lord IM'nm's park. And killed Lord Pelham's deti. And if ever you heard a little dog bark You'll know why we come here. "We ask you let us go our way, As fast as we can flee. For if ever you heard a bloodhound bay You'll know how pressed we be." "Oh, lay your crossbows on the bank And drop the knife from your hand, .\nd though the hounds are at your flank I'll save you where you stand!" They laid their crossbows on the bank. They threw their knives in the wood, And the ground before them opened and sank And saved 'em where they stood. 'Oh, what's the roaring in our ears That strikes us well-nigh dumb?" "Oh, that is just how things appears .According as they come." INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 "What arc the stars before our eyes .That strike us well-nigh blind?" Oh, that is just how things arise According as you find." "And why's our bed so hard to the bones ^^ txcepting where it's cold?" "Oh, that's because it is precious stones excepting where 'tis gold. "Think it over as you stand. Fori tell you wiihout fuil, It you haven't got into Fairyland lou re not in Lewes Gaol." All night long they thought of it. And, come the dawn, they saw' They'd tumbled into a great old pit At the bottom of Minepit Shaw. Arui the keeper's hound had followed 'em close. And broke her neck in the fall- So they picked up their knives and their crossbow. And buried the dog. That's all. But whether the man was a poacher too Ur a Pharisee' so bold— 1 reckon there's more things told than are tnie. And more things true th.-., .,,. uMl 7J7 HERIOT'.S FORIt ■yyHAT'S that that hirples ..i n,y -ij^ ..-ru ''^'!'/°' "'«'you mustfigk, my lo.d. ihat rides as fast as I can rider" The shadow of your might, my lord. 'A fain-. RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE "Then wheel my horse against the foe!" He's down and overpast, my lord. You war again, l the sunsel-g/ow. The judgment follows fast, my lord: "Oh who will stay tht- sun's descent?" King Joshua he is dead, my lord. "\ need an hour tu repent!" 'Tis what our sister said, my lord. "Oh do not slay me in my sins!" You're safe awhile with us, my lord. "Nay, kill me ere my fear licgins!" IVe would not serve you thus, my lord. "Where is , le doom that 1 must taCL?" Three little leagues away, my lord. "Then mend the horses' laggard paci.1" IVe need them for next day, my lord. "Next day— next day! Unloose my cords!" Our sister needed none, my lord. You had no mind to face our swords. And— where can cowards run, my lord ? "You would not kill the soul alive?" 'Twas thus our sister cried, my lord. "I dare not die with none to shrive" But so our sister died, my lord. "Then wipe the sweat from brow and cheek.' // runnels forth afresh, my lord. "Uphold me — for the flesh is weak." You 've finished with the Flesh, my lord! INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 FR.ANKIE'S TRADK QLD Horn to All Atlantic said: {-■/-/lay O ! To «;,• () ') ••N'c.w where did l.'rankic learn his trade? l-or he ran me down with a thr.e-rccf mains'!.. (..Ill round Ihe Horn t) 7i') Atlantic answered:-" \„t troni nu I Vou d better ask the coM \„rth Sea ^or he ran mc down under all plain ca,ua> " {■111 round l/ie Horn !) ■IV- North Sea answered :-"He's my n,:,„, ^or he came to me when he l.cuan- b rankle Drake in an open coasUT. {-ill round the Sands !) "I caught him young ano llw Barrows of I hi- Dead run ah, ait ! Shoiii it so the It^omeii's Side can hear ! This is the Buyer of the Blade— he afraia : This is the great ^nd Tyr ! Our women and our little ones may walk on the Chalk, As far as we can see them and beyond. iVe shall not be anxious for our sheep when we keep Tally at the shearing-pond. We can eat with both our elbows on our knees, if wc please, We can sleep after meals in the sun, I'or Shepherd of the Twilight is dismayeii at the Blade, Feet-in-the-Night have run! Hog without-a-Master goes away (Hai, Tyr, aie!), Devil-in-the-Dusk has run ! Then: Room for his shadow on the grass — let it pass ! To left and rig V — stand clear ! This is the Buyc of the Bladc--be afrcid l This is the great god T\r ! Ji«- INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 7J7 Ian; DARZEES CHAUNT 'Sun^ in hoMuur c,( Rlkki-tikki-r.ivi. gIN'CJEK anil tailor am I- DouWcii rhejovs thar ( kn„w- I'roijcl of my lilt to the sky, I'roml of the house that' I sew Ov.r and under, so weave I my n.usic- so «eav e I the house that 1 sew. Sing to your Hetlylings again, Mother, O lift'u|i y(,ur head! Kvil that plagued us'is slain. Death in the garden lies dead I error that hid in the roses is impotent -riu hill and dead I ng on the duni;- Who hath delivered u.s, who? Tell me his nest and his name. Rikki, the valiant, the true, . T'kki, with eyeballs of Hame, "' Hame'''" ''" '^'"^^''"g^J. '^e Hunter with eyehalls of (in e him the Thanks of the Birds, Bowing with tail-feathers spreacil Praise him in nightingale-words— Nay, I will praise him instead. Hear. I w,ll smg you the praise of the bottle-ta.led Rikk,. with eyeballs of red! {Hm Rikki-tikki intermpud, and the rest of the song is hi. 738 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE THE FOUR ANGELS Ji^ ADAM lay a-tlreaming beneath the Apple Tree The Angel of the Earth came down, and offered Earth in fee. But Adam did not need it, Nor the plough he would not speed it. Singing:— "Earth and Water, Air and Kire, "What MKire can mortal man desire?" (The Apple Tree's in Inid.) As Adam lay a-dreaming beneath the Apple Tree The Angel of the Waters offered all the Seas in fee. But Adam would not take 'em, Nor the ships he wouldn't make 'em. Singing:— "Water, Earth and Air and Kire, What more can mortal man desire?" (The .4pple Tree's in leaf) As Adam lay a-dreaming beneath the Apple Tree The Angel of the Air he offered all the Air in fee. But Adam did not crave it. Nor the flight he wouldn't brave it. Singing:— "Air and Water, Earth and Fire, What more can mortal man desire?" (The .'\pple Tree's in bloom.) As Adam lay a-dreaming beneath the Apple Tree, The Angel of the Eire rose up and not a word said he. But he wished a flame and made it. And in Adam's heart he laid it, Singing; — "Fire, Fire, burning i-ire! Stand up and reach your heart's desire!" fThe Apple Blossom's set.) rth i INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 73,, As Adam was a-working outside of Fden Wall, He arose to l)c the mastir Of Karth and Water, Air and Urc Hut never reached his heart's desire! (The Apple Tree's cut down .'J THE BEGINNINGS '714-18 JT WAS not part of their blood, It came to them very late With long arrears to make good, Uhcn the English began to hate. They were not easily moved, . ["'^y "'<;'■'•■ icy-wiJIing to wait I in every count should be proved Ere the English began to hate. ' Their voices were even and low, Their eyes were level and straight. Ihere was neither sign nor show, When the English began to hate It was not preiiched to the crowd It was not taught by the State No man spoke it aloud. When the English began to hate w 740 RUUYARD KIPLING'S VERSE It was not suddenly bred, It will not swiftly abate, Through the chill years ahead, When Time shall lount from the date That the English began to hate. THE FRAVKR V|Y BROTHER kneels, so saith Kahir, To stone and brass in heathen-wise. But in my brother's voice I hear My own unanswered agonies. His God is as his fates assign. His prayer is all the world's — and mine. ^ SOf ;s FROM FNGLISH HISTORV I'HE RIVER'S TALE (Prehistoric) h or, hey were young and the Thames was old ■ind,h,s ,s the tale that the Rioer told- ' "I walk my beat before London Town |- "--^'--^-"e 7Vhene Ocean You'll go^.he.,au..,c„,.n,, a. won, ,,u.-.|„3.„,.„ The scent of hawthon, ,n the- .,n, oH.ncken in rhe we..' wwnc;.;t^r^:^:n;-:^:Se. >'Kl seas of heather derelict, where our old Messmates sleep 746 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE THF. PIRATF.S l\ ENGLAND (Saxon Invasion) a. d. 400-600, VX^HEN Rome was rotten-ripe to her fall, And the sceptre passed from her hand, The pestilent Picts leaped over the wall To harry the English land. The little dark men of the mountain and waste, So quick to laughter and tears. They came panting with hate and haste For the loot of five hundred years. They killed the trader, they sacked the shops. They ruined temple and town — They swept like wolves through the standing crops Crying that Rome was down. They wiped out all that they could find Of beauty and strength and worth, But they could not wipe out the Viking's Wind, That brings the ships from the North. They could not wipe out the North-East gales. Nor what those gales set free — The pirate ships with their close-reefed sails, Leaping from sea to sea. They had forgotten the shield-hung hull Seen nearer and more plain. Dipping into the troughs like a gull. And gull-like rising again — INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 In the high snake-headed stem 1 ney had forgotten them ! ' ^ To'm*"'''.r ^r"^ "'■ "'^- S--"«- Shore io meet her hand to hand, As she took the beach with a grind and a roar And the pirates rushed inland. ' 7^7 DANEGELD (a. n. y8o-ioi(i) \nd^ th '' °"'^n '" I'^>- ''^•" *''' Dane-geld And then you'll get rid of the Dane! ''ro'nrr V,^T'^''°" '° ■-' "^h and lazy nation ••Tho,Llf ''u'""'' ""P""=>"t and to sav:I ' 1 hough we know we should defr^^ .,„ l time to meet you " °"' '"'^ ''•■'^■^- "°* '^^ We will therefore pay you cash t<, go away." And that is called paying the Dane-geld- Bu we ve proved it again and again, That >f once you have paid him the D^ne-geld You never get rid of the Dane ^ 748 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE It is wrong to put temptation in the path of any nation. For fear they should succumb and go astray, So when you are requested to pay up or be molested. You will finl it better policy to say: — "We never pay any one Dane-geld, No matter how trifling the cost. For the end of that game is oppressioi and shamr, And the nation that plays it is lost! ' THE ANVll, (Norman CoNiiUEsr, 1066) ENGLAND'S on the anvil— h;ar the hammers ring- Clanging from the Severn to the Tyne! Never was a blacksmith like our Norman Kini; — England's being hammered, hammered, hammered iiitu line! England's on the anvil! Heavy are the blows! (But the work will be a marvel when it's done) Little bits of Kingdoms cannot stand against their foes. England's being hammered, hammered, hammered into There shall be one people — it shall serve one Lonl— (Neither Priest nor Baron shall escape!) It shall have one speech and law, soul and strength and sv.ord. England's being hammered, hammered, hammered into shape! •191, 749 INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885^ NORMAN AND SAXON ('*. n. I loo) ^^ ' !;^n;: dr ""^ ^~ «"-•■■'- d,ing. and ,o., '''trdf^^n? •:"' ''^ ''""" " "»-"^'^- -'' -^ "ice li„,,. «- |-fc- you go ovcrn. ...le i. I ..,„,,„„ „„,,3^^„, ■"'■'';, Hiil""""''^"^^""'^"'^- "'— ners are n,. '"'te'^;:;:™^ '^"■''^'-'-'-^-••"'>-. leave th. ''""ro:^i^'::,">''t trust anv clerk r„ i.^rpret when they co:n. with the tale of their w rongs. 7J0 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE l.ft them know that you know what they're saying; lit thcni feel that you know what to say. Yes, even when you want to go hunting, hear 'cm out if it takes you all day. "They'll drink every hour of the daylight and poach every hour of the dark, It's the spoM not the rabbits they 're after (wc 'vc plenty of game in the park). Don't hang them or cut off their lingers. That's wasteful as well as unkind, For a hard-bitten, South-country poacher makes the best man-at-arms you can find. "Appear with your wife and the chililren at their weddings and funerals and feasts. Be polite but not friendly to Bishops; be yood to all poor parish priests. Say 'we,' 'us' and 'ours' when you're talking instead of ■you fellows' and 'I.' Don't ride over seeds; keep your temper; and unrr yon tell 'em a lie! " THE REEDS OF RUNNYMKOF, 'Magma Charta, June ic, 1215) ^T RUNNYMEDE, at Runnymede, What say the reeds at Runnymede? The lissom reeds that give and take. That bend so far, but never break. They keep the sleepy Thames awake With tales of John at Runnymede. INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 At Runnymcd., at Runnym.dc, Oh hear the r«ds at Runnymedc- Vou must n't sell, delav, deny A freeman's right or lihern- 't wakes the stul.Lorn Englishry ^\>^ saw em roused at Runnvmede' 7.?' When through our ranks rh.. « ^jMittieth^.o/:!^,:!^:,^^::::--. An A? "'^'^'' "•• '" Runn -mede- And there they launched in solid I ne' The hrst attack on Right Divine- Jne curt, uncompromising 'Sign'' That settled John at Runnfmede. "At Runnymede, at Runnvmede WnghtswerewonatRunnvmede' \^7"''''" ^'"''1 he fined or bound Or dispossessed of freehold ground Kx^n't by awful judgment found '• And passed upon him by his peers' '•-get not, after all these yea":: The Charter signed at Runnymede." And still when Mob or Monarch lav, roo rude a hand on English ways ^ Ihewh.sper wakes, the shudder^piavs Across the reeds at Runnvmed-.'' Thcrwarnmg down from Runnymede! 7S» RUDYAHD KIPLING'S VERSE MY FATHERS CHAIR (Parliaments of Henrv III, 12()0 "TTHKRE are four good legs to my PathiT's Chair- Priest and People and Lords anil Crown. I sits on all of 'cm fair and square, And that is the reason it don't break down. I won't trust one leg, nor two, nor three. To carry my weight when I sets me down, I wants all four of 'em under me— Priest and People and Lords and Crown. I sits on all four and I favours none — Priest, nor People, nor Lords, nor Crown And I never tilts in my chair, my son, And that is the reason it don't break down! When your time comes to sit in my Chair, Remember your Father's habits and rules. Sit on all four legs, fair and .square, And never be tempted by one-legged stools! THE DAWN WIND (The Fifteenth Century) AT TWO o'clock in the morning, if you open your window and listen. You will hear the feet of the Wind tliat is going to call the sun. 'NCLUSIVK EDITION. 1885-1918 ;„ W'>rk IS done. >• !.'ass. It is day and li,s '"'^'^atr"'''^"''-'^-"''^'--- no,. op. .,,-,„ Ou.of^son.,on,,Uldrean,,h,un,,.k..shern,u„.,.,nd THE KJNG'.S JOB (The TiDOR Movarchv) ^^\Vh;r " 'T """ '^ "^'"g """'■""■■' to understand 7;4 RUDYARD KIPLINC; S VERSE hi wasn't safi- in his lini (Vi>m ami .11 List His They interrupred his meals 'em - (hi y hung round his ncrk xnA heils Majesty fled from 'cm. He put on a leper's clrak {(H-ople leave lepers alone), (Xit of the window he broke, ami alulicatcd his throne. All that rapturous day, while his Court and his Ministers mourned him. He danced on his own highway till his own Policemen warned him. Uay and cheerful he ran (lepers don't cheer as a rule) Till he found a philosopher-man teaching an infant-schix)!. The windows were open wide, the King sat down on the grass, .And heard the children inside reciting "Our King is an ass." The King popped in his head, "Some people would call this treason, But I think you are right," he said; "*"M1 you kindiv give me your reason?" Lepers in school are as rare as kings with a leper's dress on. But the class didn't stop or stare; it calmly went on with the lesson : " TA" wisest Mug, we suppose, thai a man can do/or his /anti. Is the work that lies under his nose, with the tools that lie under his hand." The King whipped oflfhis cloak, and stood in his crown before 'em. He said: " My dear little folk, Ex ore parvuhrum — (Which is Latin for "Children know more than grown-ups would credit") You have shown me the road to go, and I propose to tread it." Back to his Kingdom he ran, and issued a Proclamation, "Let every living man return to his occupation!" Then he explained to the mob that cheered in his palace and round it, "I've been to look for a job, and Heaven be praised I'xe found it!" INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 7,5 WITH DK.AKt; l\ THK TROPICS ( \. I>. Is-So) S^-'l'Ttl and Car south l.d„w tin- Line, (>ur Admiral leads us on, AI...VC, undrcamcd-of plant-ts »hini— I he stars wc knew are gone Ar.)und our clustered seamen mark I he silent deep ahlazc With fires through which the Tar-.lown shark J>ho<,ts gl. nniering on his ways. The sultry tropic breezes (ail That plagued us all day through- Like molten siVcr hangs our sail Our decks are dark with dew. ^ow the rank mmm commamls the .sky Ho' Bid the watch Leware And rouse all sleeping men that lie I nsheltercd in her pl.ire. Utm long V rin.e twixt bell and bell' How still our la"thorns burn' How strange our whispered words that tell U( tngland and return! Old towns, old streets, old friends, old loves, V>e name them each to each While the lit face of Heaven removes Them farther from our reach. \ow is the utmost ebb of night When mind and body sink. And loneliness and gathering fright O erwhe'm us, if we think-- 756 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Yet, look, where in his room apart, All windows opened wide. Our Admiral thrusts away the chart And comes to walk outside. Kindly, from man to man he goes. With comfort, praise, or jest. Quick to suspect our childish woes. Our terror and unrest. It is as though the sun should shine — Our midnight fears are gone! South and far south below the Line, Our Admiral leads us on ! "TOGETHER" (England at War) \X/"HEN Horse and Rider each can trust the other every- where. It takes a fence and more than a fence to pound that happy pair; Kor the one will do what the other demands, although he is beaten and blown, And when it is done, they can live through a run that neither could face alone. When Crew and Captain understand each other to the core. It takes a gale and more than a gale to put their ship ashore; For the one will do what the other commands, although they are chilled to the bone. And both together can live through weather that neither could face alone. INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 757 When King and People understand each other past a doubt It takes a foe and more than a foe to knock that country out; ' For the one will do what the other requires as soon as the need is shown, And hand in hand they c:in make a stand which neither could make alone! This wisdom had Klizabcth and all her subjects too I'or she was theirs and they were hers, as well the Spaniard knew; ^ For when his grim Armada came to conquer the Nation and 1 hrone, Wny, back to back they met an attack that neither culd face alone! [t is not wealth nor talk nor trade nor schools nor even the V ote, Will save your land when the enemy's hand is tightenini; rounil your throat. But a King'and a People who thoroughly trust each other in all that IS done Can sleep on their bed without any dread— for the world will leave em alone! JAMES I (1603-162 5) 'pHE child of Mary C)ueen of Scots, A shifty mother's shiftless son. Bred up among intrigues and plots. Learned in all things, wise in none. Ungainly, babbling, wasteful, weak, Shrewd, clever, cowardly, pedantic. The sight of steel would blanch his cheek, The smell of baccy drive him frantic. 758 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE He was the author of his line — Hp wrote that witches should be burnt; He wrote that monarchs were divine. And left a son who — proved they weren't! EDGEHILL FIGHT (Civil Wars, 1642) ^AKED and grey the Cotswolds stand Beneath the autumn sun. And the stubble-fields on either hand Where Stour and Avon run. There is no change in the patient land That has bred us every one. She should have passed in cloud and lire And saved us from this sin Of war— red war— 'twixt child and sire, Household and kith and kin. In the heart of a sleepy Midland shire. With the harvest scarcely in. But there is no change as we meet at last On the brow-head or the plain. And the raw astonished ranks stand fast To slay or to be slain By the men they knew in the kindly past That shall never come iigain — By the men they met at dance or chase, In the tavern or the hall, At the justice-bench and the market-place, At the cudgel-play or brawl Of their own blood and speech and race, Comrades or neighbours all ! INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 More bitter than death this ,lav must prove Whichever way it go, I'or the brothers'of the maids we love iVIake ready to lav low Their sisters' sweethearts, as we move Against our dearest foe. Thank Heaven ! .At last the trumpets peal Betore our strength gives wav. l-or Kmg or for the Commonweal No matter which they say, The first dry rattle of new-drawn steel Changes the world to-day! 759 THE DUTCH IN THE MEDVV.-W (I 6 6 4- I 6 ■; 2) JF WARS were won bv feastine, Ur victory by .song. Or safety foi- ■.{ in sleeping .sound, How England would be strong! But honour and dominion Are not maintained .so, They're only ^-ot by sword and shot, .ind thu the Dutchmen know! The moneys that should feed us. You spend on your delight. How can you then have sailor-men To aid you in your fight.' Our fish and cheese are rotten. Which makes the scurvy grow— We cannot .serve you if we starve, And this the Dutchmen know ! f 760 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE Our ships in every harbour Be neither whole nor sound, And, when we seek to mend a leak, No oakum can be found, Or, if it is, the caulkers, And car)>entcrs also, I'or lack of pay have gone away, Jnd this the Dutchmen know ! Mere powder, guns, and bullets, We scarce can get at all, Their price was spent in merriment And revel at Whitehall While we in tattered douolets From ship to ship musL row. Beseeching friends for odds and ends- And this thi; Dutchmen knots) ! No King will heed our warnings. No Court will pay our claims — Our King and Court for their disport Do sell the very Thames! For, now De Ruyter's topsails. Off naked Chatham show. We dare not meet him with our fleet— And this the Dutchmen know ! "BROWN BESS" (The Army Musket — 1700-1815) JN THE days of lace-ruflles, perukes and brocade Brown Bess was a partner whom none could despise — An out-spoken, flinty-lipped, brazen-faced jade. With a habit of looking men straight in the eyes— INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 761 At Blenheim and Ramillies fops would confess They were pierced to the heart by the charms of Brown Bess. '^YefheZ 7'" ""' ""'■'""*'' "'^' "'■■^ ^^'S^' "'••^ n« small Yet her actions were wmning, her language was clear- And everyone bowed as she opened th- ball On the arm of some high-gaitered, grim grenadier Half Europe admitted the striking success Of the dances and routs that were given by Brown Bess. When ruffles were turned into stiff leather stocks And people wore pigtails instead of perukes Brown Bess never altered her iron-grev locks, She knew she was valued for more than her looks. Oh powder and patches was always mv dress And I think I am killing enough." said Brown Bess. So she followed her red-coats, whatever thcv did from the heights of Quebec to the plains'of .Assave trom Gibraltar to .Acre, Cape Town and Madrid, ' " And nothing about her was changed on the way (But most of the Empire which now we possess ' ' Was won through those years by Hd-fashioned Brown Bess.) In stubborn retreat or in stately advance, Froni the Portugal coast to the cork-woods of Spain She had puzzled some excellent Marshals of I-Vance 111 none of them wanted to meet her again- Hut later, near Bmssels, Vapoleon-^no less- Arranged for a Waterloo ball with Brown Bess. She had danced till the dawn of that terrible dav- She danced on till dusk of more terrible night. And before her linked squares his battalions lave wav ^nr, u^ u"^-^""" 1"»'i""^-s P« his lancers to flight- And when his gilt carriage drove off in the press, I have danced my last dance for the world!" said Brown 762 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE 1! If you go to Museums — there's one in Whitehall — Where old weapons are shown with their names writ be neath, You will find her, upstanding, her back to the wall, As stiff as a ramrod, the flint in her teeth. And if ever we English had reason to bless Any arm save our mothers', that arm is Brown Bess! THE AMERICAN REBELLION (1776) I Befork "TWAS not while England's sword unsheathed Put half a world to flight, Nor while their new-built cities breathed Secure behind her might; Not while she poured from Pole to Line Treasure and ships and men^ These worshippers at Freedom's shrine They did not quit her then! Not till their foes were driven forth By England o'er the main- — Not till the Frenchman from the North Had gone with shattered Spain; Not till the clean-swept oceans showed No hostile flag unrolled. Did they remember what they owed To Freedom — and were bold! INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 7b3 AFTKR T^HE snow lies thick on Valley Forge I he ICC on the IX-lawarc, H.U the poor dead .soldiers,,,- Kin,. (Jcorge They neither kn,.w n.,r care Not though the earliest prin.rose l.reak Wn the sunny suie ot the lane, And scuffling rookeries awake I heir England's spring again. They will not .stir when the drifts are ^onc Or the ice melts out of the bay m>y will not stir though the mavflower blows In the moist dark woo■"" t'"'"-- '"• =■" >"" ^>^ -Steamers, .,,,, "''" t.niiland s own oal, up and down The salt suas'" \\c- arc gomi; to ktch you your bread and ^our butter lour beef, pork, and mutton, eggs, apples, and cheese." "And where will you (etch it from, all % Big Steamers, _ And where shall I write vou when you are away'" \\e fetch It from Melbourne, Quebec, and Vancouver Address us at Hobart, Hong-Kong, and Bombay." * "But if anything happened to all you B,^- Steamers, „,,."'' siipP'«e you were wrecked up and down the salt ^ei = " Ihen you d have no cotfee or bacon for breakfast, And you'd have no muffins or toast for your tea." "Then I'll pray for fine weather for all you Big Steamers, l-or little blue billows and breezes so soft." "Oh, billows and breezes d"--'""'^' and anils! Match the iron-shoulclerea rocks lie .' ,v„ ■„, i , , As the th.rstv l'nc./,..r,„.;,r..a "• '''"""" "'•":-; »> l-.v. <>'crp,.wcrccl, Incyrt-atLT power confers! 'I'hi; Mki.i.m ''"« "" « T ^"'• "■' ''^'••' ••'^ ^l'^' «'»^ ours A'>w A7A.- And she was ours- ■y. A;«/V; And she was .,urs- '' "I'i'iniler: And she was „urs, As we, even we re hers! The Bells: Ai we were hers! 769 THF. GLORY OF THE GARDEN QUR Fngland is a garden that is full of stately views wit^:::::^::;^ --i::::t^;--^'awn/an:n:;n.es, B-HeGior,ofehecarh::'ij:r::^,r::^l]>-^^.^ The cold-frames and the hot-houses, the dungpits and the '"'' "'pL^'k""' =""' '"'"-P'P"' -"^ '-• barrows and the 770 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE 4 And there you'll see the gardeners, the men and 'prentice boys Told off to do as they are bid and do it without noise; Vor, except when seeds arc planted and wc shout to scare the birds, The Glory of the Garden it abideth not in words. And some can pot begonias and some can bud a rose, And some are hardly fit to trust with anything that grows; But they can roll and trim the lawns and sift the sand and loam, Kor the Glory of the Garden uccupieth all who come. Our England is a garden, and such gardens are not made By singing;— "Oh, how beautiful!' and sitting in the shade. While better men than wc go out and start their working lives .■\t grubbing weeds from gravel-paths with broken dinner- knives. There's not a pair of legs so thin, there's not a head so thick. There's not a hand .so weak and white, nor vet a heart so sick, But it can find some needful job that's crying to be done. For the Glory of the Garden glorifieth every one. Then seek your job with thankfulness and work till further orders, If it's only netting strawberries or killing slugs on borders; And when your back stops aching and your hands begin to harden. You will find yourself a partner in the Glory of the (iarden. Oh, Adam was a gardener, ajid God who made him sees That half a proper gardener's work is done upon his knees. So when your work is finished, vou can wash vour hands and pray For the Glory ot the Garden that it may not pass awayl .Ind the Glory nf the Qariicn it shall iitirr pass away ! ,i 771 INCLUSIVE EDITION. 1885-1918 GREAT-HEART (Theodore Roosevelt in .y,,) -Buman-s "I'il^rM, r,„g„!,." CONCERMXc; ,,,,,, e..,,,,;,,. Our age hath made krown i-or all men to honour, One standeth alone, n \°'^' °'" ''°''' °ceans Both Peoples may say: Our realm is diminished With Great-Heart away " In purpose unsparing, In action no less, ' The labours he praised He would seek and profess through travail and battle, At hazard and pain And our world is none the brave imce Great-Heart was ta'en' Plain speech with plain folk And plain words for false things, Plain faith m plain dealing Twixt neighbours or kings Heusedand hefollL.ved, However it sped. Oh our world is none more honest ■Now Great-Heart is dead! fl 772 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE The heat of his spirit- Struck warm through all lands; For he loved such as showed 'Emselves men of their hands; In love, as in hate, Paying home to the last. . . . But our world is none the kinder Now Great-Heart hath passed! Hard-schooled by long power, Yet most humble of mind Where aught that he was Might advantage mankind. Leal servant, loved master. Rare comrade, sure guide . Oh, our world is none the safer Now Great-Heart hath died! Let those who would handle Make sure they can wield His far-reaching sword And his close-guarding shield; For those who must journey Henceforward alone Have need of stout convoy Now Great-Heart is gone. THE END INDEX TO FIRST LINES A farmer of the Aueust.in A.ic "■=' A fool there was and he made his praver ^> A great and glorious thini; it is ■ -5' A N'ation spoke to a Nation 5° A R.)se, in tatters on the «arcien path =°" A stone s throw out on either hand ■42? ■ ■! linker OH! of BeJforJ, 57; About the time that taverns shut . ^ ' ■ ■ "'' ■I'r'ia > ' "^^ -;« As I left the Halls at I.umley, rose the vision'of a comelv ' ' ' -°* A cu7m^rh"""T""^ ■''"^'^ "''-"•'' ""^ Cr»„^^r ■ ■ ".' As our mother the fr,gate,bepainted and fine, "'' A the dawn w.as breaking the Sambhur belled- "" At Runnymede, at Runnymede, . "'-t At the close of a winter day, ~5° At the hole where he went in '. '. J*' At times when under cover I ' ive said "°'* ^.:;^t^o.tz;:;:^;;^^^:r"-^"'"^°>^-'"'^-. • "= I'^ay by Iht lands of Ihe Japanee •*~° Ay, lay him 'neath the Simla pine— '-9 He well assured that on our side ■•'' Beat offin our last fiuht were we' ''"' Hecause I sought it far from men, ''°-f Reen Bees! Hark lo your be,! ! ']°* Before a midnight breaks in storm ' ' ''■''' Before my Spring I garnered Autu'mn-s gain,.' '.'.'.'.'.' fl 773 774 INDEX TO FIRST LINES Bt-ncirh ilir ,|cc|> vcraniiali's shade, RefwFcn rln- wavini; tufts .>fjunBlc.'siras!,, ^^ Hcv„n,l the path „f the outttiost'sun thtough utter darktiess hurled- Blessed be the Knghsh and all their wars and works. . Boaneryes Blitzen, servant of the Queen, ' ' Boh Da Thcne was a warrior bold; ' . Brethren, how shall it fare with me . Kroke 10 every known miie/iance, lifted over nil ^' Buy my Kn;^lish posies .'.... ^-^^ le sea,. -not too youne — , saffron-yellow — ring— h posie. By the Hoof of the Wild Goat uptossed R-' t' 'iTm"'' ,'''^'''r ''■■ '-"'''■'' '"' ^""'" i" ''""» of bra: B> the old Moulmein Paitoda, lookin' enstwaril i By the well, where the bullocks go Chlna-goini! P. and O.'s . ." , Cities and Thrones and Poiiers, ' . Concerning brave Captains . Cry "Murder" in the markef-plaie, and each Dark children of the mere and marsh. Dawn off the Foreland— the >i)un2 flood makinc I,)clilah Aberyswith was a lady — Dim dawn behind the tamarisks— the sky Duly with knees that feiirn to quak( K was warned at'in 'er — F.ddl, priest of .St". Wilfrid Knpland's on the anvil- hear the hammers ri l-.r-Hei beyond the Hills of Ao-Sajai Krc Mor the Peacock flutters, ere the ,\bmkev People l;.re the steamer bore him F.astward, Slearv was enea r.xcellent herKs had our fathers of old— Kyes a.ort, over dangerous places, Kyes ofgrey— a sodilen quay, . ', h':iir is our lol—D goodly is our heritage I I'arewell and adieu to you, Harwich I.adi I'arewell, Romance! the Cave-men said: biles — !'or a .season there must be pain— . b'c)r all we have and are, b'or our white and our excellent nights— for I'or the sake of him who showed I'or things we never mention, b'rom the wheel and the drift of Things l-ull thirty foot she towereil from waterline to rail ''"y go up and guy go do-sn Cm, stalk the red deer o'er the heather, ' . (/o 69: .11 194 4-9 401 680 37S 59' no 680 379 76s 573 95 57' ") 37'' .135 5l(i 690 ic 47'' 6f ! 554 77' 573 635 <;93 INDEX TO FIRST LINES I : ''31 69: 31 194 4-9 401 680 378 707 59' no 680 379 76s 573 244 God ofo.r lathery know,, Cold Help for a patriot Ji^.'^s" ^' ''''• ''^■^"■^- ''" »'"' "P'"- was siill „„ h^ ^^.^.| Here come I to my own a,al„, ' I am the Mosr \Vic« h . ■ closed and drew lor mv luve-s sake • do not 00k ("or hnlv w .';„, . ■ . ■ |uo.ot,ove,;:i?:::p^:;;r'""^™"""'^--. followed n,y Duke ere I was a lover ' ' go to concert, partv, ball— J^cl seen, as dawn was hreakini; ' ' ' I have been g,ven mv charec to keen- ' "••'"'"111 your bread, m.l' sail "•"•■■"niidfjoryiou a son, keep six honest serving-men know not in whose hands are la.d ! - thT.rrh',!:'';;!™'"^'"";' ""• "•■" - <"'' I wish my mother co ,11 le ' , ■ ' "''"^ ''"'' ^'""" ^ ' was Lord of Citi^^r ":,™r„!;,","'.?,'^"--r-' ""J" -^X -„: / ■,.,, ,1. ■""" *""'■ sumptuous ' '^•'s Mf stmincliest 0/ our fi„, I was very well pl.ased with what 1 k liuildcd. 37~ 4CH 341 C./. t4'. «'.j 441- '•71 ''53 "i mm 776 INDEX TO FIRST LINES I LI- I '*°'' 1 went into a public- ousc to get a pint o beer, .^ -. I'm 'ere in a ticky ulster un" a broken billycock 'at, . . . . ] 48- I'm just in love with these three, ...'.'. ce^ I've a head hkc a concertina, I've a tonyue like a button-slick, . . .60 I've never sailed the Amazon, g_, I've paiil for your sickest fancies; I've humoured your crackedest whim — I've t;!ken my fun where I've found it; ... . , r^^ If any Gud should say ' ^^^ If down here I chance to die, If extended observation of the ways and works of man {l] "If I have taken the common clay ^^,, If I were hanged on the highest hill, ' ' * -^j If it be pleasant to look on, stalled in the packed serai,. .... '6^ If the Led Striker call it a strike, ! . . 21c If thought can reach to Heaven, ! ! ! ' 6c« If wars were won by feastine, ' ~c, If you can keep your head when all about you ! 64? If you stop to find out what your wages will be ! 42*1 If you wake at midnight, and hear a horse's feet, ...!.* i 720 Jf you've ever stole a pheasant-cgg be'ind the keeper's back, . ! ! 466 Imprimis he was "broke." Thereafter left gp In a land that the sand overlays— the '.vays to her gates are untrod— . '. 161 Jn Lowestoft a boat was laid, ' ' ^,_ In the days of lace-ruffles, perukes and brocade ' "60 In the daytime, when she moved about me, * ?~? In the name of the Empress of India, make way, '-y- In the Neolithic Age savage warfare did I wage ^o? It got beyond all orders an' it got beyond all 'ope; 4c 7 Jt is always a temptation to an prmeij and agile nation, .... 747 It was an artless Bandar and he danced upon a pine, t8 It was an August evening and, in snowy garments clad, .... 22 It was not in the open fight ] ^ ^-I it was not part of their blood, '. '. i\(^ It was our war-ship C/ampAwi^oit'n ! ! ii;o It's forty in the shade to-day the spouting eaves declare; .... 407 Jack Barrett went to Quetta j j Jane Austen Beecher Stowe de Rouse .....'.'.'.' .' .* 44 Jenny and Me were engaged, you see, \ 20 Jubal sang of the Wrath of God .-.,,. \ \ .., 622 Kabul town's by Kabul river— !!!.'.* 481 King Solomon drew merchantmen, 172 Land of our Birth, we pledge to thee . ! ! 642 Legate, I had the news last night— my cohort ordered home ..." 744 'Less you want your toes trod off you'd better get back at once, . . S^'i 4«7 558 460 14- (c: (■4./ 6o'i 701 6h 21c 65s "<|y 645 4 lb 7:0 466 90 361 7'7 760 575 37 393 4<;7 747 38 22 575 739 '5K 407 ] I 622 481 172 642 744 638 INDEX TO Flits J- LINES Ul 111 admit it fairly, m a i,m "Ut Life' •nrs, pnplf shnuU, 777 344 u! now praia famous mm s all getting ami sivina, ' ' «2j ' "" ' ' ■ 689 237 573 ■37 423 Lived a woman wonilerful," , I-ook, vou have cMst out I_!nvei VVI,,.n j ' ', ' • • • Mant'oestoM;,,,. Cry tl,e cliallen,; March! li.em,„iiscakin'Lr.«ial,o, Me that .ivebeen whatfvo'heen - Mm make ll,-mfira ,m He /„•„«/, ■ ihrouiih the Junple! 't our trousies. Much ras, (;„,! of the M„n,in^., our tru: mpets waken the Wall! . I owe to the Lanils that crew- My brother kneels, so saith Kai>ir My father's father :,aw it not '■ • MygarJenblazeW,ri,.htlv withfheroiehushnnl-k ' l ' ^:::::::^ii;:t;irtt:h:,^ --"■■"■'•: Ne-thettl. harp, nor the crowns a,„used, nor the cherubs' ,,„ve:winged No doubt hut ye are the P.t,mI. ,. ' l* ' No hope, no ch-tn.el The Ijrl™.^";™- '-''»- ">^' Kin,,. "None whole or cfean." we crv ou will be heir - Via 5-4 93 "<3 <»9 652 "40 '"4 "9 4K^) Theclou.lshaveshutusin, . .or clean, we cry, "or free from stain. 49 7t'l .347 92 :v«,;„rt, ..„,;, to „■;,,,;•},.;.;■; "; ■^•^'^ ';™ "»'■" 2, Not in the thick of the hA,\ Not though you .lie to-niiht O Sweet Not with an outcry to .Aliah wail, nor any coinplainins .,66 574 Now Chi, the Kite brinc^h-X;^'"™'"^ • „8 Now thej.ur.way Uage .:'^tC:::^^^:^ tZ^ „,, '' Now the New Uar, reviving last Vear's Debt, ' ' ' Now the new year revning olH desires, Now, th,s,s the cup the White Men drink N::t'^t/;^i:/f^/s:^-:--^.'-^...*; Now Tomiinson gav. ..„ 'u. "!■!''. ^?"'^" .^^^^" 'i>:"eed, 31 1 28 3=4 626 Now V ' g'"'= "P the gh.ist in his ho ^ ' we are come .0 our Kingdom, -"""^^ i" Berkeley Square, . ,;,' U woe IS me for the merry life 562 O ye who tread the Narrow W.iy ' ' ' ' 309 Of all the trees that grow so fair i°5 5''S INUKX TO FIRST LINKS rAfir nil, l-.iist /( hifl, and lifsl is It est, un.i ncier the twain .'it>. i mtrrt, . . zhH Oh galliint was our galley from her carvcn steeriny-wheul .... H4 Oh ^'Ifirious arc the yuiinieil heights ..... . . k? Oh Muhshec, carry >nur shi>es in your hanii ami bow your heaJ on your breast! ,,| Oh! hush thee, my baby, the night is behitid us, -q8 Oh, lii;ht was the worlii that he weigheJ in his haruls' c-s Oh. little ili.i the Woh'-chiia care- ' - . . ! ! 704 "Oh, \\iierf are you L'oin^' to, all \ ()u Bit; Steaniers -fie Oh ve «hf, huKl the written clue . . ' ' ' ' Ln OKI Horn to .All .Atlantic said: ! ' ! 729 "OM Mother l.aidinwool had nigh twelve months Ijcen dead. ... 664 Once a ripple came to land . . ^ Once, after long-drawn revel at The Merm.iid, ....... ^00 Once, on a glittering ite-tielJ, ages and ages ago, -jg- Once on a time was a Kinn anxious ro uiuierstand yo Once we feared The Beast— when he followed us we ran, fyVc One from the ends of the earth—gifts ar an open door— . . . . 200 One man in a thousand, Solomon says, ;Q4 One moment bid the horses wait, ,5 One moment past our bodies cast [ ^g. Only two .African Kopjes, ■ . . Open the old cigar-Uix, get me a Cuba stout, ...... * c^ Our brows are bound with spindrift and the weed is on our knees; 1.^5 Our Knglaml is a ganlen that is full of stately views. . . ' . -fin Our Fathers in a wondrous age, ^,-, Our gloves arc stiff with the "frozen blwd. ... 711 Our Lord Who diil the Ox command • ■ ■ 579 Our sister sayeth such and such, ' ' 699 Out o' the wilderness, dusty an' dry j^q Over the edge of the purple down, ftj- Pagett, M.P., was a liar, and a fluent liar rherewirh. - ' '. . . . 29 Peace is declared, an' I return -^, Pit where the buffalo cooled his hide, i-6 Potiphar Gubbins, C.I-',., , '^ Prophets have honour all over the F.arth, f,;, Pussy can sit by the tire and sing, fy2^ Pur forth to watch, unschooled, alone, fijg ^ueen Bess was Harry's daughter. Stand Jor^Lard partner' ,ill ! . 675 Read here: This is the story of Evarra — man — igg Red Earl, and will ye take for guide 26^ Ride with an idle whip, ride with an unused heel, z-\ Rome never lcx>ks where she treads ^['^ Roses red and roses white gnr Royal and Dower-royal, I rhe Queen , . IZO rAiir «4 ,i55 2.11 -o« ;-» "04 240 7S9 664 696 400 ,?97 7J.1 200 594 56 694 5,15 5.! 195 'm: 7J3 579 699 5J° ''77 -9 . M, ' "inrnin' INDEX TO FIRST LINES i« you the ferny rid. ,ha, I.eals '' '"" ''^"•''' l'^"'""' from all IhrKorld back lon'.rl,- ^v„ VVarchmcn ,i„i,„ ;„ ..r,^, '^°'*' "'-". Stz the Jun.or Orderly S.:rgeant Mle dropt^d the bar, she shut the l»,lr' I, .■ , l . ' ' Sh,v, who ,„ured the harvest an, m V he r' "" "'' •""- >hove off from the wharf-e.ige! Stead,' ■Singer and tailor am I- ' Smells are surer than sounds or sight, Smokm my pipe on the mountintTs, snithn' th So here's vour Kmrire \.. „, b . "nimn th VI '. •"•pire. -No more wine thi-ti* .Si '" lhe,e».Te my companions goini! forth Inriitht- "°" I hese Here never your true love's e>es ' ^''' rhe^ were our children who died ,V,r our lands: thev w^e dea^ in o„r '" They be.ir, in place of cla.ssic names, '"" I hey burnt a corpse upon the sand— "" rhey christened my brother of old— <"5 hey killed a child to please the Gods '■'' hey shall not return ,0 us, the resolute, the voune' ' Vt hey shut the ro.id throueh the wo,xls ' *^ ■^4f' h.s .ippenedinabattletoahatt'ryofthe'corp,, "' his fell when dinner-time w.ns .lone- ■*'"' I his I saw when the rites were done '■' ihi: ■ t ::^^l':;-""« "' "^- -- '^- -^ ™ ^v a B^mer. ; ^-: I his IS the .State above the Law. 404 Three things make earth unquiet "-'> hrones,Powers, Dominions, Peoples,' Kines !"" I hroudi learned and laborious vears ' '" " Through the Plagues of Kgyp- we was cha'sin'Arabi ''"° Vv^jlt'r'T'^^ '■""'''■''■" '''^Cherubim,; : ' ' i' I'lr/aci IS jar /ram Ms our -xnr, • ■ . 1114 lo the Heavens above us . .' '>" j'o "ir JuJgr of Righl and llron- • f';4 l"the|^,i„„„f,h I „^^_^;^^^^^l_^-^^^^^^ .^ ■ • :■; I o-day across our fathers' graves, ' ' ■* ' Po-night, God knows wh.it thing shall tide, ''' lommv" you W.1S when it began, . ,' '"'' 7K; INDEX TO FIRST LINES Fmiv Irnopm', trrK)pin', rroopin' to the set: 47H Inily vf come of The Blnod; slower to blew (. n tn han, iqi 'l'r\ as he will, no m;m breaks wholly Inow .... 401 "I'was Fultah Fisher's ho-irding- house, 4e "I'was not while Knglarui's iword unsheatheil 762 Tufnty IriJgfs jrom Tower to Kew .... 74,^ "I'wixt my house antl thy house the pathway is brtiaii, 204 IMai Ch.irnl lay sick to tieath .... t~}. I'titil th\ feet have trod the Road f>8i Into who-ic use the pregtiant suns are poised, ^,1" Valour antl Innotenct ^7'* \'cil them, cover them, wall them round— 70^' We arc very slightly chanye*! ... 4 Wi- he the Gods of the Kast— ... (^i \Vf have no heart for the fishing, we have no hand for the oar— . ,i<; We knew thee of old, ... 10- We lent to Alexander the strength of Hercules. ''4.5 We meet in an evil land ^^^ \\ f thought we r.Tnked above the chance of ill .l'>"" We were all one heart and one race . . ,1^4 Wc were taken from the ort-bed and the mine, 7'''> We're foot — sloy — slog — slog — sloggin* over Afrii..i! «.l8 We're mtt so old in the Arn> List, . . 224 We're marchin' on relief over Injia's sunny plains, 484 We've drunk t(. the Queen — God bless her t 2t8 We've fought with many men acrost the seas, 455 We've got the cholerer in camp — it's worse than forty tights; , 500 We've roile and fought and ate and drunk as rations come to hand, i.^^ We've sent our little Cupids all ashore — 179 "What are the bugles blowin' for?" said Kilcs-on-l'arade. 4CI // 'hat boots it on tht Gods to call ? . . . . ... "What have uc ever done to bear this grudge?" Wh.it is a woman that you forsake her, . . . , What is the mor.il? Who rides may read , , .^ What of the hunting, hunter bold? "o'l "What's that that hirples at my side?" ~2~ When a lover hies abroad, . ''O4 When all the world would keep a matter hid, ^>i i When by the labour of my 'ands 544 When Karth's last picture is painted and the tubes are twisted and dried, 2<.> When first by FMcn Tree, '>40 When, foot to wheel and back to wind, . ny.l Whtn I left Rome for Lalage's sake ffi" When I was King and a Mason -a Master proven ami skilled — , 4.^8 47" ».I 40.1 *' 76: 74.1 104 1-1 *r fl-h 70*. 4 te,- M- 10- ''4.1 .154 76A .5.18 134 484 118 455 500 5.1.1 'Ti; 4CI 604 (>40 KJ.I 61- INDEX TO FIRST LINES ,,, When th. .nl,m port-hol« arci.rk .,n,l urccn ' ' ' ' ■ • 4% When, he,. ,rkcned Fife ,|,|,,,,,h,;,.,^'h" ... ^.., When.he.lrum, beuintnbca, ' ro; "Ht-n the Hush of .i rKw.|«irn ^..^ f ii t ,•' c-? When ,he Cire., .Vk, in vI^b'!: '"" ''^' "" ^''^'^ --n ..„>| ,,„u, 'J, When the Himalav.in w.isint ,„„.',. .1. l i' '■ • ■ 1.-, When ,he tobus, anj Br 1^1" M,:' "" '" •"' ''"''^' • 4 « When ,he water'. c„„n,e„rn'r """" "'•■' '*^^' '"^ «■' -.'■ Hen ,he Water, «re.l„.,l an' the Karrhd„l „.,...,,■ ' ' "=•• '""l^eQJ:: ■•""^'' """'■ ""'--•;•■ *^" >-ve ..„,, ;„, -' Whence lomest thou, (ichazi, ;;; ■■Where have >ou been this while awav -■ ''J"" run your colli al p.iiiur, -f ■• ■ ■ ^., Where the East win.l IS breweil fr,«h .„ i f l i'''. Where the ..^r-eoloure/^ulJitat™;/''-^''^-^'-" """""'^- ■ ". W here s, he lamp that Hero lit «'. Whether the State can looie ami bind ■ ■.'.;, Whoeiveshim the Bath.' • . 6;o W'ho hath desired the .Sea = -the sii.ht „(■ 1. 5'yo Who knows the heart of the Ch , : n"'^' L^^ r'-"''-! ' >^S W.II>™eon,.r..Uwith.Xr:;Xin.o. „ -' Windsof the World, Dive answer' -l-l,' ', "' ;S;:t;s;s;™>:;~'S?5^F " "- Elit;p::*:;:.;ii::; s; "■'« ~ • ou tail yoursell a m.in, ' ■ ■ . (o- ^ou couldn't pack a Broadwooj hair a mil,^' <'» lou may talk o' gin and beer • . m »ou must,,', swim till you're si. weeks old ' '•''^ lourjarofVirginny ' ' ' 708 l-our tiercel's too long at hack. Sir. tie's no evass "'" . 684 THE COUNTRY L»E PRESS GARDEN CITY. N. Y.